Dubai company launches dairy-free camel’s milk for babies

The dairy-alternative boasts a number of health benefits

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Camel’s milk might sound like a dairy-free revolution, but it’s actually been around for centuries and is available in different forms around the world.

While you might not see it at your local supermarket, raw milks, beauty products and other variations are available in abundance if you know where to look.

Given the rise in people shunning cow's milk in favour of nut-based alternatives, perhaps it was only a matter of time until one company saw an opportunity to market the unique dairy-free alternative towards infants, which is exactly what Dubai-based company Camelicious has done.

The product was announced at the Gulfood exhibition in Dubai over the weekend and will be world’s first powdered baby-milk made entirely from camel’s milk, reports The National.

Created in collaboration with Dutch infant formula producers Triscom Holland, the product is aimed at infants between the ages of one and three, primarily those who may have an intolerance to cow’s milk.

According to a study from 2015, published in the journal Electronic Physician, it’s also the closest thing to a human mother’s milk in terms of composition.

It’s even thought to contain a string of medicinal benefits, boosting the body’s immune system and helping contribute towards overall wellbeing.

Previous studies have even suggested that camel’s milk could be used to treat autism.

One study from 2005 found that when a four-year-old girl, a 15-year-old boy and a group of 21-year-olds - all of whom were on the autism spectrum - consumed camel’s milk for an extended period of time, their autism symptoms disappeared.

In light of the research, Camelicious promote their products as “extremely nutritious”, writing on their website that camel’s milk is roughly 50 per cent lower in fat than cow’s milk in addition to being rich in vitamin C.

There are also no known allergies to the milk thus far, making it suitable to infants with other intolerances.

The product will be produced in Dubai before being packaged in the Netherlands and sold across the Middle East and North Africa.