Planteneers taps protein enrichment in plant-based alternatives while hailing potential of fungal protein

20 Nov 2023 --- Planteneers presented a range of innovations at the Plant Based World Expo Europe in London last week, including high moisture extrudate (HME) for the production of meat alternatives, as well as new compounds for making plant-based whitefish and salmon alternatives.

Functional systems for high-protein yogurt alternatives, enriched cheese snacks and other trendy plant-based solutions were also exhibited.

At the company’s stand, an array of concepts were designed for meals throughout the day. The plant-based breakfast has vegan-friendly smoked salmon with creme fraiche, salami snack sticks and a high-protein yogurt. 

The company developed a Caesar salad with vegan parmesan, Caesar dressing and plant-based chicken breast for lunch. The vegan dinner was a white fish filet alternative, a chicken kebab with sour cream-style tzatziki. 

Dr. Pia Meinlschmidt, team lead product management.Speaking to Food Ingredients First live on the show floor, Dr. Pia Meinlschmidt, team lead product management, says that “interestingly, we use the same ingredients for both the fish and chicken concepts,” adding that they are both made using pea and fava bean proteins.

“We are seeing more of a demand for these ingredients in the industry as consumers look to move away from soy-based meat alternatives.”

The company sells dry blends and ingredients to its customers, who can create whatever they want. 

Meinlschmidt says she sees a drive toward removing methylcellulose from food formulations. 

“There’s a really big drive toward this currently in the plant-based foods sectors, but it’s actually very difficult to swap out from ingredient lists using other ingredients as it can bring a lot to a food product in terms of taste and texture, especially in plant-based meat and seafood alternatives,” she explains. 

“It gives a very good bite in both hot and cold conditions,” she adds. 

For alt-seafood, Meinlschmidt tells us that challenges relating to mimicking the true textures of fish were difficult to overcome. “The way that fish flakes apart when you put your fork in and how it consists of many layers was very challenging from the beginning of the development process. Getting the taste right wasn’t too difficult, especially for our smoked salmon concept based on rice protein starches.”Planteneers’ technologies are designed to integrate with existing production lines, minimizing the need for additional investments.

Upping protein levels
High-protein is also a trend that the company is tapping into, specifically in yogurts and alternative dairy beverages. “So with our yogurt concept, we can get levels of 6% protein in the final product, which is pretty high for yogurt applications. We can also help our customers make this claim on their products.”

“We are very much focused on increasing the protein content in our dairy alternatives because many alt-dairy products already on the market are based on starches and hydrocolloids, so they don’t have these high-protein claims, which can make them less appealing to consumers.”

But this is something that often comes hand in hand, notes Meinlschmidt. 

“Customers want a high protein concept that is also plant-based, and tailoring those levels is not always straightforward. If you take the smoked salmon concept, we have managed to get a protein level of around 5%, and of course, we want to increase this because a traditional animal-based salmon has 20%-25% protein content.”

Utilizing products for prepared dishes 
In a live cooking demonstration, attendees could experience how the final products, derived from Planteneers ingredients, perform in prepared dishes. 

Speaking during the demonstration, Florian Bark, product manager of Planteneers, says: “It’s important to understand that we are in a b2b relationship with our customers, meaning we are in the supply chain located before the producers. So we are not the producers of the products I’m cooking here. They are simply samples of how we can present these ingredients and products to our customers.”

“Customers in the industry showcase their alternatives and express whether they want improvements. If they do, we provide recipes for them. The intellectual property belongs to them.”

The plant-based chicken breast, a key component of the traditional Caesar salad, is based on pea protein. “So this is the basic protein that we use, and there’s also texturized vegetable protein (TVP) in there as well. The TVP used has a long thin fibro structure, which is great for mimicking the fiber of real chicken breast,” he explains. 

“It’s also important to mention that all our products are made on these small-scale production machines. So that the upscale is very easy, and this is important when we are trying to develop products that can be made with the existing lines at our customers’ factories so that they don’t have to invest a lot of money into new production lines.”

“For me, that is a key element for scaling these ingredients and products as we seek to reduce development costs while making sure a product has that great taste and texture that our customers and consumers expect,” he says. 

That’s where our technologies come into play, progressing from small-scale experiments to upscale trials, outlines Bark. 

“Customers benefit from these trials to help them scale up their products and to educate their staff, who may prefer learning, for instance, how a fan-based innovation works.”

Plant-based customization
On the Planteneers stand, the company also showcased its Plantbaser digital product configurator. Its advantage is that it requires no dedicated plant-based expertise to operate.  

In the Culinary Demo Theatre, Florian Bark, product manager, prepared a plant-based Caesar salad. As it develops, with approximately 1,300 recipes, Plantbaser can now present a diverse array of plant-based offerings spanning categories such as milk and cheese alternatives, delicatessen products, and alternatives for meat and fish. Users can craft their desired outcomes within a mere 15 to 20 minutes, enjoying a personalized experience.

“You can customize it to your needs, and within two weeks, you get a sample,” Meinlschmidt tells us.

According to Meinlschmidt, the tool is like a huge database that allows clients to tailor products to their specifications, whether they require a finished product or raw ingredients for in-house production.

“For example, you can opt for a ready-to-grill burger, or you can choose to receive the dry ingredients to produce the burger yourself.”

Looking ahead, with over 50 products available for the Plantbaser configuration, Planteneers is excited about the rapidly growing plant-based market. 

For Meinlschmidt, the future of plant-based innovation looks bright, with new products expected to be upgraded nutritionally. “The nutritional value of foods will become a key topic in 2024, as well as micro-organism-based food products like mushroom protein,” she details. 

“Fungal protein is really innovative and definitely an area which we are looking to explore more. It’s a complete protein with all nine essential amino acids, like many of its animal-derived counterparts,” she concludes. 

By Elizabeth Green, reporting in London & Sichong Wang