Pea stars for Roquette amid alternative protein boom

11 Dec 2017 --- Roquette’s range of pea proteins took a starring role at FiE 2017, and would seem to have a bright future in products promoted by the company. According to the company’s representatives, a key highlight of the company’s newest range of products is around plant-based proteins – many of which are based on pea proteins.

Pea protein makes up major launch
Pea protein’s benefits over other types of proteins are clear to the company. “Pea protein is quite unique in the way that in terms of alternatives, it’s a fantastic solution,” says Patrick Lapointe, Marketing Director Food & Nutrition Business Unit, Roquette. “When people want to decrease the meat they eat, or the milk they drink, they are looking for alternatives. Soy can be one option, but there are some issues associated with it. So they are really moving to pea.”

Pea protein’s advantages can be felt in everything from process to function, according to Lapointe: “There is a clean process, it’s a non-allergen product, so it’s a fantastic alternative, the taste is fine and in terms of function, it brings a lot.”

Roquette has also noted a huge traction at the moment for alternatives based on pea. “What we can see – for example in the US – is absolutely amazing,” Lapointe comments. “There are so many companies launching successful products on the market with meat alternatives or non-dairy milks based on peas, so this traction is huge and the momentum is very good. It’s why Roquette is investing a lot in supporting this business.”

“Pea protein is non-GM, it’s also gluten free, and we also add clinically proven benefits on muscle mass with our pea protein,” Marie Blondel, Responsible Communications Marketing – Europe for Roquette, adds.

Useful applications
When it comes to useful applications for pea protein, Roquette feels that it is difficult to narrow them down. “What’s fantastic about pea protein is that it’s a very versatile product, so this solution fits perfectly well with enrichment in baking solutions, some non-dairy milks, some soups and sauces. It’s also a fantastic milk replacer,” enthuses Lapointe.

“It goes into special nutrition such as clinical food, senior food, slimming, so it can be used across the board and it’s quite unique with pea protein,” Lapointe adds. “In terms of taste, functionality and nutritional benefits, it’s used everywhere, so that makes it unique in that way.”

Challenges lead to investments
“The challenge for us is really to keep on supplying because the demand is so big that we have been struggling a bit,” says Lapointe. “It’s why we are making major investments in pea.”

The company has made two major investment announcements with regard to pea protein. “We are going to invest more than €300 million (US$354 million) in Canada in Manitoba, to build a new processing facility. Canada is the perfect place, because it’s by far the largest place where the yellow pea is grown. About 30 percent of the global production is in Canada, so we will be right in the middle of the raw material,” Lapointe notes.

This will mean that Roquette is able to supply the North American market, which is also the largest market for pea protein, making it a major investment. The investment was celebrated in September, and it will be on stream sometime in 2019.

“Along with the investment, we also know that we will be expanding capacity in France, so we have been processing in France for some years already,” Lapointe adds. “We spent €40 million two years ago and we are going to invest €40 million in this plant again to enlarge the capacity.”

This means that altogether, those two facilities will have a total processing capacity of about 250,000 tons. Lapointe believes that this make Roquette “by far” the leader in this pea proteins thanks to its production facilities in North America and in Europe.

Research produces new brand
Roquette is also about to expand its range and launch a new, highly functional brand of pea proteins called Nutralys S 85 Plus.

“It’s a highly functional product with low viscosity, so it’s very suitable for ready-to-drink beverages,” says Lapointe. “The other benefit of it is that with this highly functional product, the taste is much improved. So it’s going to bring something new to the market in terms of functionality and in terms of taste.”

“We are very optimistic about the way the customers will welcome this new product,” Lapointe says. “It’s an innovation, really.”

Other strategic pillars
While pea protein is certainly a strategic pillar for Roquette, one of the company’s other strategic pillars is around sugar replacement, so it has developed solutions based on fibers.

“We are developing new solutions that will be on stream soon, so we will have some discussion in the coming months about that,” says Lapointe. “We are also working on soluble fibers to propose fiber enrichment in the market. Fibers, sugar reduction and protein enrichment are the three big pillars for the food business for Roquette.”

Roquette is involved in the field of food nutrition and health, Blondel points out, and with that in mind, the company announced recently that it would be launching a foundation, the Roquette Foundation for Health. “It’s brand new, and it’s going to support some educational and innovative projects around health,” Blondel comments. “It really shows that we are committed in this field.”

“It will support education and social projects,” Lapointe adds. “This is the first time that Roquette has been involved in this type of foundation for health. So it’s something new where the employees and the shareholders work together to support this kind of social project.”

By Lucy Gunn and Paul Creasy