In the dairy industry, inclusions commonly add color, taste, and texture to premium ice cream — think chunks of cookie dough, swirls of caramel, and slivers of nuts and cherries — and yogurt with its now popular “sidecar” packaging. Yet, the possibilities don’t end there. From cottage cheese to pudding and cream cheese, most dairy companies are “all in” when it comes to mix-ins, fruit flavors, and crunchy inclusions.

Nuts, chocolate, fruit, and other inclusions can elevate dairy foods from ho-hum to top-shelf. As a result,  “Companies are stepping up their innovation game when it comes to single-serve options with toppings,” relays Amanda Cardinal, marketing coordinator of Pecan Deluxe Candy Co., Dallas, Texas.

“The appeal of mix-ins and toppings lies in their ability to enhance the flavor and texture of traditional dairy products, creating a delightful sensory experience that resonates with consumers,” Cardinal explains. “Whether consumers are health conscious looking for nutrient-dense yogurts or cottage cheese that can offer a level of ‘permissible indulgence’, to those just looking for a convenient sweet treat through the day, mix-ins are key to appealing to a wide range of consumers.

“These offerings also present the opportunity to drive new consumers to the yogurt category who don’t enjoy consuming yogurt on its own,” she continues.

Walter “Smokey” Waters, Pecan Deluxe’s director of culinary innovation, notes that inclusions have been used to “jazz up” dairy offerings for years, making the ordinary extraordinary, without a lot of added effort.

“Inclusions provide flavor, color, and texture without having to make major changes to bases that are already standard in a brand’s lineup,” he notes. “For example, you can take a textured graham thick fudge and a marshmallow-flavored flake and turn a basic chocolate ice cream into a decadent chocolate s’mores profile. Adding inclusions and sauces allows you to rearrange the furniture to drive excitement rather than having to buy a new house.”

Aaron Iverson, national sales manager, U.S. and Canada for Global Organics, Cambridge, Mass., concurs that inclusions bring the fun and flavor as consumers “dig in” for a surprise. “Inclusions offer the ability to geometrically expand the range of base product lines.  Chocolate and/or vanilla base flavors have an almost limitless range of options with inclusions,” he says.

While the most popular inclusions are baked crunches, clusters, sprinkles, brittles, barks, and fresh-frozen fruit flavors, Thom King, chief innovations officer at Portland, Ore.-based Icon Foods, points out that dairy manufacturers are getting more creative with flavors and inclusions, especially in frozen desserts.

Nuts, chocolate, fruit, and other inclusions can elevate dairy foods like ice cream from ho-hum to top-shelf. Photo courtesy of Pecan Deluxe Candy Co.

“Van Leeuwen has a dill pickle flavored ice cream, as well as a Kraft macaroni and cheese flavored ice cream,” King says. “In particular, frozen dessert manufacturers are coming up with interesting co-marketing campaigns as co-branded products have been found to be effective with Gen Z. These sometimes bizarre and unconventional options appeal to younger consumers looking for novelty and fun, especially when part of a co-marketing campaign with a brand they recognize.

“On the other hand, there's a significant segment of the population, including older millennials and Gen Xers, who prioritize ‘better-for-you’ options,” he continues. “These consumers seek products with less sugar, higher protein, and functional inclusions like nuts or added fiber. This market prefers healthier choices that still offer indulgence without compromising on nutritional benefits. Inclusions can also be used to create a broader appeal by adding a bit of indulgence to healthy foods, such as plain Greek yogurt with sweet inclusions.”

In addition to providing limitless options, inclusions, particularly if they’re organic, can help promote a clean label.

Chobani’s new Pumpkin Spice Barista Oatmilk and Pumpkin Spice Greek yogurt beverage, along with the return of spiced dairy creamers and a Pumpkin Pie Oat Chai Draft Latte, are helping consumers get a jump on pumpkin season. Photo courtesy of Chobani.

Global Organics’ Category Manager of Fruits and Vegetables Christine Campbell explains: “Organic inclusions can reemphasize a clean label product and boost the organic appeal. Inclusions like organic fruit purees or organic chocolate chips indicate that the ingredient is free from chemicals and GMOs. When a brand uses organic inclusions, it can further substantiate a clean label claim.”

Indulgent dairy inclusions for fall

Formulating with fruit, nuts, and chocolate helps dairy processors create innovative foods based on consumer needs, and brands continue to capitalize on the changing seasons to release — or bring back — new dairy and non-dairy products with a seasonal flare.

For instance, New Berlin, N.Y.-based Chobani is once again helping its customers get a jump on pumpkin season with the return of several seasonal products while introducing two new limited-time, pumpkin-flavored products.

The new additions to the autumn-themed selection at retailers nationwide are Chobani’s ready-to-drink (RTD) Pumpkin Spice Greek yogurt beverage, which is available in a 7-ounce on-the-go format and made with real pumpkin and seasonal spices. Meanwhile, the company developed its newest Pumpkin Spice Barista Oatmilk variety to add to coffee, tea, espresso drinks, and dirty sodas.

Mix-ins like granola, fruit, and nuts within yogurt are appealing to a wide range of health-conscious consumers. Photo courtesy of Pecan Deluxe Candy Co.

Chobani, which acquired RTD coffee maker La Colombe in late 2023, also is bringing back Pumpkin Spice Greek Yogurt, Pumpkin Harvest Crisp Flip, Zero Sugar Pumpkin Spice Greek yogurt, Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer made with real cream and milk, Pumpkin Spice Oatmilk Drink, and La Colombe’s Pumpkin Spice Draft Latte cold brew. Additionally, all 32 of La Colombe café locations are serving Pumpkin Pie Oat Chai Draft Latte on tap.

With the Nov. 5 U.S. Presidential Election soon to arrive, Ben & Jerry's debuted an election-themed flavor, “Churn Out the Vote.” The limited batch flavor from the South Burlington, Vt.-based company features pretzel swirls, fudge chips, and ripples of chocolate mousse in a creamy vanilla ice cream.

Premiumization boosts growth 

Given the plethora of food inclusion options, market demand from consumers and suppliers is expected to grow. In its “Food Inclusion Market to 2028 — Global Analysis and Forecast by Type, Form, and Application,” Insight Partners predicts the market will grow at a 5.7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to a little more than $18 billion by 2028.

MarketsandMarkets, which includes information on chocolate, fruits and nuts, cereal, and confectionery, suggests higher growth of $18.7 billion in sales by 2027, a CAGR increase of nearly 7%.

Founded in 1950, Pecan Deluxe Candy Co. continues to work with dairy suppliers on innovative projects that include plenty of dairy items from cheese snack trays, ice cream, yogurt, and cottage cheese.

“In our experience, ice cream and yogurt really drive the inclusion market due to their textures and ability to easily pair with many textures and profiles,” Waters says. “Cottage cheese is a great carrier but seems to be a product that some consumers stay away from due to the texture of the ‘curd.’ Some of our most popular yogurt inclusions include clusters, fizzy clusters (popping candy-based), baked crunches/brittles, sprinkles, and fresh fruit bases and sauces.

“Ice cream pairs nicely with these as well, along with cookie doughs and truffles produced in our cold extrusion area. Fruit based flavors and ice cream flavors (e.g., orange cream, cookies n cream, strawberry cream, etc.) are profiles driving interest at the moment,” he adds.

Cardinal notes that since almost all its products can be fat-coated to hold up in diary, the company offers “practically limitless sections” when it comes to dairy inclusions. “One of our most popular products we’ve seen in dairy recently include our confectionary coated clusters, because of their ability to combine multiple flavors and textures. For example, adding our Orange Cream Pretzel Cluster to any plain yogurt or ice cream creates a salty, sweet orange cream dessert concept with one inclusion.”

In addition to offering many organic, clean-label inclusions for dairy applications, Global Organics’ most popular organic fruit purees are berries, tropical fruit, and stone fruit like strawberry, blueberry, mango, guava, cherry, and peach. The company also offers organic dark chocolate chips and chunks that are ideal for ice cream since they are soft and have the perfect texture to provide the right melt and flavor delivery, notes Linnea Halter, marketing coordinator.

The company also provides Class 1 caramels, free of added sulfites, ammonia, and 4-MEI, a compound formed in the browning of certain foods, she adds.

While inclusions in dairy products boost premiumization, inclusions can be cost-prohibitive, according to   Shannon Fitzgerald, marketing manager at Balchem.

The Montvale, N.J.-based ingredient supplier offers a variety of inclusions for ice cream in the form of variegates, fruit solid packs, and low-melt flavored/ colored lipid pieces.

“[Our} most popular are the variegates and we have unique ’textured’ options that enhance the mouthfeel and eating experience,” Fitzgerald says. “More consumers are looking for premium ingredients and a value price. However, consumers are beginning to expand value from mainly cost-driven to benefits-driven. For example, convenience, ease of use, quality attributes, impact to well-being, etc.”

Although inflation at the grocery level is off the charts, food manufacturers aren't making much of a profit since the cost of goods sold are still high.

“The price of sugar is more than double, the price of cocoa is about six times where it was. The cost of nuts is also still high. Brands have to ask themselves are these inclusions cost-effective?” King says. Yet, ingredient substitution may be necessary. For example, palm kernel oil is becoming more popular among chocolate manufacturers due to rising cocoa prices and supply chain instability.

“We're likely to see a significant shift toward chocolate-flavored inclusions made with palm kernel oil instead of cocoa butter, with cocoa butter reserved for use in chocolate bars marketed as indulgent treats,” King notes.

Depending on the inclusion, care should be taken when adding inclusions and mix into dairy products, Pecan Deluxe’s Cardinal states.

“… Moisture is a huge factor to consider. We see many of our fat coasted products being integrated into dairy in order to maintain their texture in crunch,” she says. “However, in yogurt specifically, we’ve seen a huge growth in popularity around the ‘sidecar” packaging and other similar formats that allow inclusions to be added at time of consumption which has hugely opened up the possibilities when it comes to mix-ins.”

Dairy manufacturers are getting more creative and inclusive when it comes to inclusions beyond fruits, nuts, variegates, caramel ribbons, and fudgy sauces.

Global Organics’ Iverson concludes: “Social media offers a lot of trending flavor combinations that can be pulled on to offer creative takes on nostalgic favorites. A memorable recent combination was a Gochujang swirl added to chocolate chip cookies, and riffs of that are making their way into ice cream.”