For many years, the cream cheese options for lactose-free individuals have not been plentiful. Most grocery stores typically have under 10 lactose and dairy-free cream cheese options — perhaps a few more if you’re in an organic supermarket like Whole Foods. There are multiple varieties of dairy-free cream cheese, but most of them taste like cement or, if a shopper is lucky, dehydrated cheese.
In defense of current dairy-free cream cheeses, when making this alternative, it is extremely hard to match the taste and texture of the original. Most are plant-based, with many products being made from ingredients like cashews, almonds, tofu, soy protein, coconut milk, and coconut oil.
The number of options is already slim, so many shoppers have no choice but to deal with these products that are often made with the same ingredients across brands and end up having the same taste that can not live up to actual cream cheese.
Philadelphia is here to fill this gap in the dairy-free cream cheese category and answer some long-neglected prayers. The famous cream cheese brand, owned by Kraft Heinz Co., a company known for its dairy products, has released a new lactose-free cream cheese. The product is intended to have the same texture and taste as the original in the same classic block form and can be used as a swap for the original. Containing no added dyes or preservatives, the best part is that the cream cheese is still made with milk and cream, but it is also formulated with the lactase enzyme.
This enzyme is essentially what our body produces to better digest the lactose that comes from dairy, so this addition to the cream cheese makes dairy easier to digest for individuals who are lactose intolerant. So while not a completely dairy-free alternative, this option was made specifically to be an option for the lactose-intolerant community to enjoy without the usual stomach discomfort.
There are 30 to 50 million Americans who are lactose intolerant. This large presence has led to a boom in demand for lactose-free or dairy-free alternatives for products like milk, yogurt, ice cream, and cheeses. Many big lactose-free and dairy-free brands like Lactaid, Silk, Oatly, So Delicious, and Daiya Foods have brought many of these alternatives to the market.
With sales from this sector reaching up to $5.1 billion in America, big companies like Kraft Heinz Co. are aware of this community and are trying to keep up with the demand. In the press release for this new product, the Vice President of Marketing from Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Maddy Zingle, stated that for too long, “many lactose-intolerant consumers have had to miss out on cream cheese and some of the foods they love most.”
The cream cheese is expected to start rolling out in August for the public in stores nationwide across America. For many lactose-intolerant people, this release will be a much-needed addition to the market that will make meals more accessible and delicious.