Fairlife Milk is a new “super milk” produced and marketed by soft drink giant Coca Cola. If you’re anything like me, the idea of a “super milk” is already weird enough before you factor in that it’s from the same company responsible for super sugary cola and Powerade.
Coca Cola wisely opts to not market this product as “organic”, or even “natural” – let’s be clear, this is not simply fortified milk. Their process involves filtering the milk into its separate components, such as proteins, calcium, and sugars – and then recombining these components (aside from the sugar and lactose) according to specific ratios in order to provide “superior nutrition”, according to their product website.
So, what exactly makes Fairlife so different? Well, according to a blind taste test, reviewers were able to determine that the Fairlife milk was thicker and richer than regular milk, with the chocolate variety being likened to a milkshake. Some reviewers also mentioned that the Fairlife milk had a strong smell, making it smell as if it was spoiled (although the company assures that the milk is kept chilly for the entire process). Some mentioned that the non-chocolate varieties had a slightly musky taste, with one panelist describing a “dry texture and a noticeable aftertaste”, although the judges were able to drink it with equal enthusiasm as its regular, organic milk counterpart.
Further differences include that their ultra-filtration process removes all of the lactose sugars, so it is considered lactose-intolerance-safe. It also has less other sugars, despite having a reportedly sweeter taste to it (this is due to the addition of artificial sweeteners after the filtration and remixing process). It is also significantly more expensive – $4.29 for 52 oz, whereas regular milk runs an average of just over $2 a gallon (64 oz) and organic milk averages about $4 a gallon. However, if you are worried about lactose or nutrition in your milk, the general consensus is that Fairlife super-milk is worth the money.
