ITHACA, N.Y. — A new carbonated, milk-based beverage soon for sale will give children a healthful alternative to soda and may create a new market for struggling dairy farmers, its developers said.
E-Moo should be available in supermarkets in the Northeast by June, said Mary Ann Clark, vice president of marketing for Mac Farms of Burlington, Mass., the drink's maker.
"We are giving parents and children an opportunity to buy a healthy product. Everyone knows milk is good for you. But it's not cool to drink milk. We're going to make it cool," she said during a special demonstration of the company's bottling system Tuesday at Cornell.
E-Moo, developed with the help of food scientists at Cornell, is fat-free, contains less than 1 percent of the recommended daily allowance of cholesterol, about half the sodium usually found in flavored milks and has 130 calories in an eight-ounce serving. It is made with crystalline fructose, instead of refined sugar, and provides protein, calcium and vitamins A, C and D.
"It is milk," said Clark. "Even though it starts with milk and ends with milk, we have to say it's a beverage because the U.S. Department of Agriculture has a strict definition of milk. The addition of carbon dioxide means we have to call it a beverage."
E-Moo — a drink for children of an Internet age — initially will be sold in three flavors: Orange Creamsicle, Bubble Gum and Chocolate Raspberry, which will marketed as an alternative for adults. In waiting are Cookies and Cream and Fudge Brownie if e-Moo is successful.
Mary Ann Clark and her husband, George, came up with the idea for e-Moo several years ago after noticing the exploding popularity of sports drinks and sodas — which are now widely sold in vending machines in schools, where a carton of milk used to be a lunchtime staple.
Although their background was in the pharmaceutical and bottling industries, the Clarks, living in a dairy state, also were aware of the financial problems facing farmers left to sell their milk for cut-rate prices.
Joining the Clarks in their venture is St. Albans Cooperative Creamery, a consortium of 540 dairy farmers from Vermont, New York and New Hampshire.
"We were interested because they were a customer for our dry nonfat milk powder," said Rob Hirss, St. Albans' operations manager.
"But we also were eager . . . for a product for kids that might cut into their soda consumption and make more milk drinkers," he said.
Of course, increased milk consumption means increased demand, and that translates into promising economic times for dairy farmers, Hirss said.
Milk prices in some areas have fallen to their lowest prices in 20 years, reaching as low as $11.50 per hundred pounds for some dairy farmers. Last week, Wisconsin officials reported that dairy farm income had dropped $500 million in a year's period.
Hirss said at least 50 dairy farms in Vermont failed last year because of low milk prices that do not cover production costs.
The Clarks decided to develop a healthy drink using milk so they contacted Joseph Hotchkiss, a Cornell food scientist who has spent the last five years experimenting with carbonation as a way to extend the life of milk and orange juice.
"The carbonation does the same thing in soft drinks as in e-Moo. It provides a carbonated sensation. Also, it extends the shelf life of what you would expect from milk," said Hotchkiss. "With refrigeration, we believe that e-Moo can last six weeks."
e-Moo starts with pasteurized milk then uses about one-third to one-fifth less carbon dioxide than soda, depending on the flavor, Clark said.
"We still wanted that burst of taste that comes with the bubbles," she said.