CHICAGO, Ill. — A new milk product proposing to make for even stronger bones and teeth and provide more energy and less fat is starting to hit store shelves nationwide.

The product, touting 50 percent more protein and half the sugar of regular milk, is called fairlife. fairlife, LLC, based in Chicago, is teaming up with soft drink giant Coca-Cola to get the product into stores.

Morgan Shelton, a spokesperson with fairlife, LLC, said the new product just started showing up on the shelves of retailers and more information about the product will be shared during a press briefing. No date has been scheduled for the briefing, but it will occur in the near future, she said.

fairlife, LLC sprung from a partnership between dairy co-op Select Milk Producers and Fair Oaks Farms in northwestern Indiana. The milk, which also claims to have 30 percent more calcium than regular milk, also contains no lactose, meaning those with an intolerance can drink both the reduced-fat and fat-free whole and chocolate varieties.

According to company officials, fairlife already produces Core Power high protein milkshakes, popular among some weightlifters and fitness enthusiasts. The new product is expected to appeal to the general population, creating excitement about its selling potential.

It’s that potential that drew the interest of Coca-Cola as an investor and distributor of the product, to help offset slumping soft drink sales. Coca-Cola has similar arrangements with other beverage products and has its own juice line, Simply, an orange juice billed as “not-from-concentrate.”

“Now, to be clear, we’re going to be investing in the milk business for a while to build the brand, so it won’t rain money in the early couple of years,” said Sandy Douglas, global chief customer officer and president of Coca-Cola’s North America division, in a transcript from seekingalpha.com

“But like Simply, when you do it well, it rains money later. And we can deliver with our business portfolio before the milk comes online to full profit.”

The premium milk has drawn some concerns, along with harsh and even tongue-in-cheek criticism that it might be too scientifically engineered. “It’s like they got Frankenstein to lactate,” quipped host Stephen Colbert on “The Colbert Report.”

Some traditional milk producers in various publications have labeled the product as synthetic or something not created by nature, and claim consumers prefer a milk that’s not only natural and already nutritious, but one they can trust.

Doubters of the new product’s appeal with consumers also point to a report from the USDA that milk consumption has fallen to its lowest level in 30 years and that the price on average for fairlife – at least early – is more than 60 cents per quart more than regular milk.

Officials with fairlife, LLC, however, claim its milk is not only more nutritious but tastes better than regular milk and the product is not something that is straight out a laboratory. An ultra cold filtering process is touted as the method for separating the fats and sugars in the milk and increasing nutrient levels.

Shelton also said the product is in response to consumer demand for “better wholesome nutrition” from “safe, responsible sources.” fairlife, LLC cites how its cows are treated well and allowed to roam freely in freestanding barns like those at Fair Oaks Farms, which uses environmentally friendly practices like converting cow manure into energy to run its large agritourism operation just off Interstate 65.

Other suppliers to the new drink in the Midwest, along with Texas and New Mexico, practice similar methods for raising dairy cows, according to company officials.

(Editor’s note: The company name fairlife, LLC and its product fairlife are both spelled with a lower-case “f.”)