Quebec dairy innovator stays right on trend with new vegan product line
Canadian Packaging
Design & Innovation Food Safety Design Caroline Reumont Design Maison Riviera Vegan DelightVegan Delight is now retailing at high-end and specialty grocery stores throughout Ontario, British Columbia and western Canada.
It takes a lot of flair and foresight to stand out in one of the dairy industry’s most crowded product categories, but for Varennes, Que.-based Maison Riviera, staying on top of consumer trends is an indelible part of the company’s culture of continuous product innovation.
With vegan foods starting to show signs of fast-growing market acceptance across the county, the privately-owned dairy processor has just launched a vegan alternative to traditional milk-based yogurts with a “decadent, yet healthy and nutritious” line of Vegan Delight yogurts made with coconut milk.
Available in three tantalizing flavors—including pineapple and coconut; raspberry and blackcurrant; and mango and passion fruit—Vegan Delight is now retailing at high-end and specialty grocery stores throughout Ontario, British Columbia and western Canada.
Packaged in 500-gram plastic tubs decorated with fanciful IML (in-mold label) packaging graphics developed by Caroline Reumont Design in Montreal, the Vegan Delight product line was created to satisfy consumers with lactose or gluten intolerances, nut allergies, vegans, vegetarians, flexitarians and ordinary consumers wishing to adopt ethical eating habits, according to Maison Riviera.
“Riviera is meeting the needs of Canadians who don’t have access to as many alternatives as in Europe or the United States,” explains the company’s general director Martin Valiquette.
“We’re pleased to expand the vegan options available in our grocery stores with a new high-quality product that has the texture and taste to rival any classic yogurt,” says Valiquette, adding the company adds to expand the line with more flavors and packaging sizes later this spring.
“It’s our goal to be a part of this current ethical shift by offering vegans a nutritionally complete dairy alternative that meets their specific dietary needs, while preventing nutritional deficiencies,” Valiquette states.
According to food industry observers and peaking numbers of Google searches, consumer interest in veganism has never been higher in Canada than today.
A 2018 study conducted by Dalhousie University estimates that 7.1 per cent of Canadians are vegetarians and 2.3 per cent are vegans.
Notably, American vegan alternatives to dairy products held 25 per cent of the market share in the U.S. in 2016, according to the study, and are expected to increase to 40 per cent in 2019.
Globally, the market share for vegan cheese products is expected to grow 7.6 per cent annually through 2024.
As Valiquette points out, growing trends in specialty diets confirm that consumers are looking for alternatives in order to change their eating habits and reduce consumption of meat and animal byproducts—firmly believing that doing so is better for one’s health, as well as the environment.
Says Valiquette: “Our new dairy-free product meets the growing needs of those interested in plant-based foods who currently have limited options available to them.”
Made from real coconut milk and sustainably-grown, perfectly ripened fresh fruit and berries, Vegan Delight is dairy-free, gluten-free product offering rich, creamy and velvety in texture that makes it a delightful dessert or snack on its own, or as versatile and nutritious addition to any recipe or smoothie beverage.
Free of artificial colors, flavors, stevia, aspartame or any other artificial sweeteners, making it ideal for all ages, Vegan Delight also contains no nuts, making it suitable for consumers with nut allergies.
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