Lullaa blends New Zealand dairy with botanicals for stress and recovery, synbiotics for gut health and immunity, and collagen with honey for skin, joint and energy support.
According to founder and director Vibhah Shiriwastow, the product is positioned as a distinct functional dairy category rather than a fortified milk.
“Rather than being ‘milk with added ingredients’, Lullaa is designed as a new functional milk category, where the function is built into the system itself. This makes it suitable for daily, long-term consumption by both adults and families – something that many existing functional products are not designed for,” Shiriwastow told us.
She explained that Lullaa’s SmartMilk is designed to address the gap between traditional dairy beverages and modern functional nutrition.
The firm observed many functional drinks address single outcomes rather than whole-body needs. Energy drinks, for instance, often rely on sugar and caffeine, while protein RTDs focus on muscle but overlook recovery and gut health.
“While consumers increasingly seek protein, fibre, probiotics, and collagen, most solutions are fragmented across powders, capsules, yoghurts, or heavily stabilised functional drinks. At the same time, many functional beverages rely on gums, emulsifiers, flavour systems, or ultra-processing to remain shelf stable,” Shiriwastow added.
To address this market gap, Lullaa developed a patent-pending BioFusion process that can integrate functional ingredients directly into milk without fermentation or additives such as stabilisers or preservatives.
“This allows the product to remain clean-label while delivering meaningful everyday nutrition in a familiar format,” said Shiriwastow.
Clean-label functional milk
SmartMilk uses dairy from grass-fed cows in New Zealand.
The botanicals used include ashwagandha, turmeric and moringa, ingredients commonly studied for stress management, recovery and vitality.
Synbiotics – a combination of probiotics and prebiotics – are also integrated for gut and immune balance, while collagen and honey are added for beauty, joint support, and natural energy.
The firm sources ingredients through New Zealand-approved suppliers and international partners, citing the country’s reputation for high-integrity food systems. This underpins Lullaa’s decision to launch domestically in March before regional expansion.
Catering to demand for functional foods
“Lullaa is designed as a globally scalable platform, not a local novelty. New Zealand provides a strong foundation of trust both for consumers and international partners before we expand further,” said Shiriwastow.
“Afterwards, priority regions include Australia and Asia Pacific, particularly markets such as Singapore and Greater China, where demand for premium functional nutrition, trusted dairy origins, and scientifically grounded products is strong.”
Beyond formulation, the firm is prioritising sensory attributes such as aroma, texture and mouthfeel, recognising that taste and drinking experience remain primary drivers of repeat purchase in functional beverages.
Why texture and mouthfeel matter in functional dairy
Functional ingredients such as botanicals, synbiotics, and collagen can significantly alter the sensory profile of dairy, affecting viscosity, aroma release and aftertaste. In milk-based beverages, even small changes in mouthfeel can influence perceptions of freshness, digestibility and quality.
For product developers, maintaining a clean, familiar dairy texture while incorporating functional actives remains a key technical challenge – particularly without relying on stabilisers, gums or flavour masking systems. As a result, sensory performance is increasingly seen not just as a consumer preference issue, but as a formulation and processing differentiator in functional dairy.
“The response so far has been deeply encouraging. Alongside recognition as an APAC finalist at the Global Food Tech Awards, early tastings and consumer testing have shown consistently positive feedback across aroma, mouthfeel, and overall sensory experience, including how the product feels during and after consumption. This combination of early recognition and real-world response has reinforced our belief that consumers have been waiting for a cleaner, more thoughtful approach to functional nutrition,” said Shiriwastow.
“As a pre-commercial launch brand, our focus has been on building the product, process, and category correctly before scale.
“We are currently in discussions with New Zealand retailers and food manufacturers, as well as international partners exploring licensing opportunities.”
[Link for image: https://tinyurl.com/2cwks53t]
Lullaa will be sharing insights into how to innovate new functional dairy products for different markets at The frontiers of functional dairy on March 5, part of our Positive Nutrition Broadcast Series 2026.
