“Largest collaborative innovation project” receives US$12M for sustainable French plant-based food

23 Feb 2023 --- Six public and private stakeholders will collaborate to create a solid and sustainable French food sector in an €11.4 million (US$12 million) project. The partners will develop innovative plant-based solutions and products based on pea and fava bean varieties, including protein ingredients, cheese alternatives and desserts.

Operated by Bpifrance and sponsored by Roquette, the five-year collaborative project: AlinOVeg ‘Innovating in plant-based food,’ is in partnership with Agri Obtentions, Eurial, Greencell, INRAE and the Université Lumière Lyon 2.

The French government provides €8.3 million (US$8.77 million) of the project’s funding as part of its France 2030 actions. 

“AlinOVeg is the largest collaborative innovation project supported by France 2030 in the food sector. It will benefit consumers in terms of new, healthy and tasty plant-based products, as well as new species, agricultural practices and protein ingredients to the entire sector,” says Ariane Voyatzakis, head of the agri-food sector at Bpifrance.

The project aims to offer products that meet consumers’ expectations for functional, nutritional and organoleptic qualities. 

About the project 
Sergio Neves, head of open innovation at Roquette notes, “driven by the same collective dynamic and ambition, we are keen to contribute to the development of a whole sector of plant-based sources and to offer healthy, sustainable and tasty solutions that meet today’s consumers and future generations’ expectations.” 

AlinOVeg will focus on research and development milestones to remove technological barriers along the value chain.

The six partners launched a five-year project to innovate in French plant-based food.The project aims to support a growing food transition for more sustainable solutions and food independence by using more local supply chains, driving innovation and generating new markets. 

AlinOVeg will also work directly with farmers to better meet their needs and enable them to optimize the value of pea and fava bean crops. 

Six partners 
The project’s sponsor, Roquette, is a French family-owned business in plant-based ingredients for food, nutrition and health markets.

"Thanks to this global and unprecedented project, supported by Bpifrance, we are bringing together public and private stakeholders from both research and industry,” Neves adds. 

Dairy product manufacturer Eurial produces a range of cheese, specialty butter and ingredients, as well as alternative milk products from goat and sheep milk and plant sources. 

Several research organizations have also joined the partnerships. These include the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment as well as its subsidiary Agri Obtentions, which develops and distributes pulse varieties, specifically peas, fava beans and lentils. 

French social science university Université Lumière Lyon 2 joins the project via its TrAlim Chair dedicated to the food transition. 

The SME Greencell is specialized in microbial biotechnology, aiming to research, develop, produce and market active ingredients derived from raw materials of microbial origin, for the agroecology, environment, human and animal nutrition and health sectors. 

Edited by Jolanda van Hal