DALLAS — Sixty-nine percent of Coffee-mate® users polled in a survey conducted in January by LALA-USA think that liquid Coffee-mate coffee creamer is a dairy product that contains milk or cream from cows.
More than 1,000 consumers ages 18 to 64 who had used Coffee-mate creamer the month before the survey or who indicated they planned to use it within the following 30 days were polled. When asked if they thought milk or cream from cows is in the liquid form of Coffee-mate, 69 percent said yes.
“Our survey shows the confusion that exists among consumers who use artificial non-dairy coffee creamers,” commented LALA-USA Chief Marketing Officer, Randy Gier. “In fact, before they were asked if they thought their Coffee-mate contains milk or cream from cows, they were asked unaided to list any ingredients they thought were in liquid Coffee-mate, and 44 percent said milk or cream.”
Based on the number of coffee drinkers who use liquid creamers, LALA-USA estimates that there are more than 20 million consumers in the United States who use Coffee-mate. “That means nearly 14 million people don’t realize they are putting a laboratory creation made mostly from water, sugar and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils in their coffee, not something natural from a cow,” Gier noted.
LALA-USA recently introduced La Crème coffee creamer nationally, the first 100% real dairy, naturally flavored creamer giving non-dairy creamer users a natural way to flavor their coffee.
Unlike non-dairy creamers, La Crème contains no trans fats. “Most artificial liquid non-dairy creamers made with partially hydrogenated soybean or cottonseed oils contain trans fat, even the ones labeled 'zero trans-fat,'” said dietician Martha McHenry RD, LD, CDE, noting that if a food has less than a half gram of trans fat per serving, the Food and Drug Administration allows food companies to round that number down to zero.
“But if the serving size is small and you use a lot of servings, those less-than- half-grams can add up to the point where a coffee lover can exceed the American Heart Association’s two-gram limit before lunch,” she explained.
“Being lactose and hormone-free is also a big plus,” McHenry said. “For lactose intolerant people, non-dairy has been one of the few options until now.”
La Crème, which comes in four all-natural flavors—Original, French Vanilla, Hazelnut and Cinnamon Vanilla—is available nationally at Walmart and Safeway, and will be available in the southwest at HEB, Kroger and Whole Foods; and at Fiesta stores in Texas.
About LALA-USA: LALA-USA is part of GRUPO LALA, one of the largest dairy companies in the world and the leading producer of milk, yogurt, cheese, cream and yogurt-based desserts in Mexico. The company owns manufacturing facilities in Mexico, the U.S. and Central America. LALA's distribution network comprises 160 distribution centers and 6,000 refrigerated routes, serving more than 550,000 customers every day. The company's portfolio of brands includes LALA®, Frusion®, La Creme®, NutriLeche®, Los Volcanes®, Monarca®, Mileche(R), Vive®, Siluette®, Natural'es®, Bell® and Parmalat®. LALA's mission is to develop and produce top-quality, innovative and nutritious products for its customers while supporting a culture of corporate social responsibility. For more information, visit www.LALAfoods.com, www.MyLaCreme.com, www.GetRealGetLaCreme.com.
Source: LALA-USA