Global launch numbers for lactose-free dairy products more than tripled in the five-year period to the beginning of 2012, according Netherlands-based Innova Market Insights. The share of total tracked dairy introductions featuring a lactose-free positioning rose from less than 2.5% to 4.5% over the same period. Levels of interest and consequently new product activity have been particularly high in the U.S. and Western Europe, which saw products marketed as lactose-free account for 10% and 6% of total dairy launches, respectively, in the 12 months to the end of March 2012.