The best powdered milk in Peru
Prices in this article were checked on the cited supermarkets’ and brands' websites on July 20, 2026, and change constantly due to promotions and stock — before deciding on a brand, check the current price at the source link. All sources are listed at the end.
In the dairy aisle of any Lima supermarket there’s more than one brand of powdered milk, and not all of them are meant for the same thing: some are for drinking straight, others come fortified for kids, and others are the most practical option for a recipe that only needs a bit of powdered milk, not a liter of fresh milk. This page compares the most common options with verifiable data.
What exactly is powdered milk?
Powdered milk is made by evaporating almost 100% of the water out of fresh milk. That’s different from evaporated milk, which only removes about 60% of the water and is still sold liquid in a can1. That difference is why powdered milk:
- Keeps without refrigeration until the package is opened.
- Goes much further by weight — 100 g of whole milk powder reconstitutes into roughly 800 ml of liquid milk.
- Gets used in baking not just to “make milk,” but as a dry ingredient: added straight into bread, waffle, or cake batter to boost dairy flavor without adding more liquid to the recipe.
In Peru, powdered milk is regulated under the Regulation of Milk and Dairy Products (Supreme Decree N.° 007-2017-MINAGRI), which sets the physicochemical and sanitary requirements any brand sold in the country must meet2.
Whole vs. skim
The difference between the two comes down to fat content, and that changes what each one is best for:
| Type | Approx. fat | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Whole | ~26–28% | Baking (more creaminess and flavor), drinking straight, sauces |
| Skim | under 1.5% | Protein shakes, recipes where you don’t want to add extra fat |
Most of the brands sold in the dairy aisle of Peruvian supermarkets are whole milk powder — the skim version is more common at sports nutrition stores than at the neighborhood supermarket.
The 4 brands compared
| Brand | Market position | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Gloria | Peru’s leading brand | Made by Peru’s largest dairy group. You’ll find it at any corner store, not just at the supermarket. |
| Anchor | Premium / fortified for kids | International brand (Fonterra, New Zealand) distributed in Peru by Nestlé3. Positioned around childhood growth, fortified with iron and vitamin C. |
| Bonlé | Mid-range | A dairy blend (not 100% pure milk, check the label) aimed at a lower price than Gloria or Anchor. |
| Bell’s (Plaza Vea private label) | Supermarket private label | Store-brand product. The one to check when price matters most. |
Not every bag in the powdered milk aisle is 100% milk. Several brands sell “mezcla láctea en polvo” (powdered dairy blend), which combines milk with other ingredients (like maltodextrin) to lower the cost. If you’re after pure powdered milk, check that the ingredient list starts with “leche entera” (whole milk) and not something else.
Nutrition facts (verified data)
Of the brands compared, Gloria has the most complete public information on Open Food Facts as of this writing:
| Per 100 g | Gloria whole milk powder4 |
|---|---|
| Fat | 26 g |
| Saturated fat | 15.8 g |
| Carbohydrates | 38.5 g |
| Sugars | 38.5 g (lactose, naturally occurring in milk) |
| Protein | 25 g |
| Energy | ~490 kcal (calculated from the fat, carbs, and protein on the label — the published energy figure on the page had a clear inconsistency with the rest of the table) |
Ingredients per the packaging: “Whole milk, emulsifier: soy lecithin (SIN 322 (i)), vitamins A, C, and D”4. The sodium/salt figure on this same entry also isn’t reliable (it shows an impossible value) — if that specific number matters to you, check it directly on your own package.
For Anchor, Bonlé, and Bell’s, there’s no complete, verifiable nutrition label in open databases as of this writing. Anchor states on its own page that it’s fortified with calcium, vitamin D, iron, and vitamin C3, but without a complete per-100g nutrition table publicly available — the most reliable source remains the label on your own package.
Price per kilo (verified)
| Brand | Size | Verified price | Price per kilo (calculated) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gloria | 96 g bag | S/ 4.50 | ≈ S/ 46.88/kg | Plaza Vea |
| Anchor | 800 g can | S/ 36.50 | ≈ S/ 45.63/kg | Tienda Nestlé |
| Bonlé | — | Not verified this session — check directly | — | Bonlé category on Plaza Vea |
| Bell’s | — | Not verified this session — check directly | — | Bell’s category on Plaza Vea |
Gloria’s price was pulled directly from the product JSON embedded in the Plaza Vea page (not from an automatic summary), on July 20, 2026. Even so, on a site that loads prices dynamically it may have changed — use the source link to confirm.
A small bag almost always costs more per kilo than a large can, though here the gap between Gloria and Anchor is smaller than it looks at first glance (≈ S/ 1.25 per kilo). If you use powdered milk often, it’s still worth comparing by price-per-kilo rather than the price you see on the shelf.
How to compare powdered milks at home
- Reconstitute it following the ratio on the package (usually ~4 tablespoons per 250 ml of water) and taste it plain, with nothing added — that’s where the difference in sweetness and “body” between brands is most noticeable.
- Check how it dissolves: a good powdered milk dissolves without lumps in warm water, with no need to blend it.
- Try it in a dry recipe (added into bread or waffle batter along with the flour, for example) — that’s where you notice most whether it adds flavor without leaving an odd aftertaste.
- Write down the actual price per kilo, not the bag or can price you saw on the shelf — it’s the only fair way to compare different package sizes.
Verdict
- 🏆 Most information available: Gloria, for being the only one with a verifiable public nutrition label and for being the easiest brand to find at any corner store, not just the supermarket.
- 💰 Best verified price per kilo: Anchor’s 800 g size (≈ S/ 45.63/kg) narrowly beats Gloria’s small bag (≈ S/ 46.88/kg) — even though the can costs much more upfront, it goes slightly further per sol spent.
- 🤔 Check before buying: anything labeled “mezcla láctea” (dairy blend, like Bonlé) — it’s not necessarily worse, but it isn’t 100% milk, so compare it for what it actually is instead of assuming it’s a 1:1 swap for pure powdered milk.