Slovenian innovation: vegans get their own “kefir” – Article Finance
Instead of milk, real kefir grains were soaked in oatmeal and the refreshing taste was enhanced by adding pineapple and coconut.
12/01/2024 14:35:00
“With the new products we are developing at Krepko Dairy, we are proving that we understand the needs of our customers and have the right kefir grains to enrich any food. We added them to oatmeal drink and developed kefir for those who avoid milk or lactose,” says Sandra Turnšek (second from left), director of the Krepko organic dairy from Laze pri Logatcu. She is in the photo with her Krepko dairy development team.
Photo: Krepko Dairy archive
According to the European Commission, demand for enriched, functional dairy products in the EU may increase in the coming years. The Krepko Dairy in Laze pri Logatcu is also expecting this and is expanding the line of functional kefirs it introduced last year. Kefir with protein and kefir with rose and collagen were joined by kefir with collagen without added aroma. Even more innovative is their latest innovation – a “vegan kefir” for those who avoid milk or lactose, made from oatmeal.
Vegan kefir is not the right term. “Real kefir is made only from milk and real kefir grains. Our ‘vegan kefir’ is a fermented drink made according to the kefir-making process,” explains Sandra Turnšek, director of the Krepko family dairy. If you don’t know – this is the only dairy in Europe that makes kefir using the traditional process and real kefir grains from the Caucasus, where kefir originates. The founders of the Krepko dairy brought the grains from there to Slovenia more than 30 years ago.
Photo: Krepko Dairy
They spent two years breeding ‘vegan’ kefir grains to get them ‘used’ to the oat drink.
“Vegan” kefir grains were grown for two years
If you thought kefir grains are made from milk, you’re wrong. “Scientists still don’t know how the first kefir grains were formed. There are several types of kefir grains; some work well in milk while others are suitable for other drinks. In our dairy, we control all kefir grains, which are alive because they contain a lot of micro-organisms and yeasts. “We spent two years breeding the ‘vegan’ kefir grains to get them ‘used’ to the oat drink,” adds Sandra Turnšek.
Each type of kefir grain is grown separately and then placed in a medium – milk or oatmeal – to create a fermented drink with prebiotics and probiotics. A kefir grain can contain hundreds of genera of micro-organisms that secrete a special prebiotic called kefiran. When kefir grains are fermented in milk or oatmeal, prebiotics are secreted. These are the food for probiotic cultures, which are essential for healthy gut flora, which is a prerequisite for well-being and good brain function.
They were looking for a plant-based drink from Europe
Let’s go back to the vegan version of kefir and see why kefir grains were put in an oat drink when vegans are big fans of coconut and could have used a coconut drink. “Coconut was out of the question because it doesn’t grow in Europe, and we are looking for raw materials from Europe. Oatmeal was not our first choice either, we would have preferred to use soya if it wasn’t mostly made from genetically modified soybeans,” says Sandra Turnšek. Using a drink from another continent is not sustainable and environmentally friendly. “As an organic dairy, we are committed to local raw materials, short chains, environmental protection, natural and healthy products without artificial additives,” she adds.
While researching the market, she was surprised to find that more than 90 percent of the vegan drinks currently on the shelves contain a lot of artificial additives. “Other vegan products also contain a lot of artificial substances. I urge people to be careful what vegan food they eat, to ensure that it doesn’t harm them more than a glass of milk over the years,” she warns.
Kefir grains react to impurities and artificial additives …
During the development of non-dairy kefir, it was discovered that kefir grains are a real impurity detector. They are very sensitive to unnatural additives in beverages and react violently when they come into contact with artificial additives such as stabilisers and flavour enhancers, and the product fails because it explodes in the packaging. “We tried many oat drink samples before we found the all-natural one, made only from oats and water, which we use in our kefir,” she adds.
… they can enrich any food
“With the new products we are developing at Krepko Dairy, we are not only following nutritional trends and fashion fads, but also proving that we understand the needs of consumers. With an oat drink made according to the traditional kefir process, we are the kings of the kefir grain and can enrich any food with it. This is the first time we have tried it and many people who try it are surprised to find that it is a refreshing, natural drink that tastes good,” emphasises Sandra Turnšek.
Oat kefir drink does not taste like pineapple and coconut by chance. “A few years ago, we launched a coconut and pineapple flavoured milk kefir which was very well received by customers. We’ve also added this refreshing flavour to our kefir oatmeal drink to make it taste good and to encourage customers to use it in smoothies and desserts. Or just pour it over cereal for a healthy breakfast… Since vegans love coconut drinks and substitutes for yoghurts, spreads and desserts, I figured they’d like our vegan version of kefir, too,” she says.
Plain kefir for adults, strawberry and vanilla flavoured for children
Krepko Dairy offers a wide variety of kefirs made from real kefir grains under the Krepki suhec brand. They started offering flavoured kefir as early as 2000, as they wanted to get children used to it so that they would have healthy gut flora from kefir. Since then, they have been offering it to schools and kindergartens, making them aware that kefir is the strongest fermented product with the highest amount of probiotic cultures, yeasts and natural carbon dioxide. Children were introduced to kefir, which has a sharp taste, by adding an organic fruit base with no added sugar. However, most of the kefir sold in the shops is plain kefir, while schools and kindergartens order flavoured kefir for children. Among the flavoured kefirs, vanilla kefir is the most popular with adults, while children like strawberry and vanilla kefir, Krepko’s first fruit flavour.
Last year’s success: 15 percent higher revenue
Last year, revenue grew at an annual rate of 15% until the end of November, the highest since the coronavirus epidemic. It was achieved by growing sales, cutting costs, reducing the number of employees and optimising the number of products. “This journey is not over yet we are continuing these actions this year. Our innovation development is not finished, nor is our search for export opportunities,” Turnšek concludes.
They see a lot of potential for global sales and are open to strategic partnerships. For business partners, they offer franchise production, or the development of unique, specially designed and bottled products based on the original krepko kefir.
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