KANSAS CITY — Evolving is the best way to describe the alternative protein industry, which keeps searching for ways to address formulation challenges in taste, texture and high finished product prices.

Options have been developed in the forms of plant-based protein ingredients created for specific applications, different extrusion techniques, 3D printing and precision fermentation.

The focus of Roquette customers has changed over the past three years, said Benjamin Voiry, global head of marketing plant proteins at Roquette, La Madeleine, France.

“You cannot go to the market with so-so products just based on the animal welfare or sustainable claim,” he said. “You need to also be good on taste and texture.”

Plant-based ingredients are beginning to feature their own specific traits.

“It’s a matter of solubility,” Voiry said. “It’s a matter of viscosity, gelling and so on.”

He added, “Products are more diversified. It’s not just, you know, one type of plant protein.”

Roquette this year launched four pea protein ingredients, including three developed for plant-based meat alternatives.

Nutralys Pea F853M, an isolate, increases product firmness and thickness due to its high gel strength. When used in high-moisture extrusion, it leads to better yield and a different texture, Voiry said.

“We know that price parity or cost is something quite important in this plant-based meat business,” he said.

Nutralys T Pea 700M and Nutralys T Pea 700FL, both textured vegetable proteins, allow manufacturers to explore new formats and textures for plant-based savory applications, according to Roquette.

The 700M ingredient enables a firmer bite and pleasant chewiness in meat-free applications and is suited for ground applications like lasagna or chili sin carne. It comes in minced form, which means there is no need for shredding during the manufacturing process. The 700M works better in plant-based nuggets and plant-based burgers, Voiry said.

The 700 FL delivers a fibrous texture and succulent juiciness to chicken and fish alternatives, according to Roquette. It is supplied in small chunks.

Nutralys Pea F853M is currently available in North America while Nutralys T Pea 700M and Nutralys T Pea 700FL are commercially available in Europe and will be launched in North America over the coming months, Voiry said.

High-moisture extrusion

IFF, New York, has invested in high-moisture extrusion (HME) technology from Coperion. IFF has installed three high-moisture extrusion systems in its facilities across Europe, the United States and Singapore.

“One of the biggest challenges for plant-based products is to recreate the tender, chewy texture of real muscle meat,” said Alexander Lamm, principal food technologist for Re-Imagine Protein at IFF. “High-moisture extrusion is one of a range of technologies being deployed to continue to improve plant-based products and take them to the next level of consumer appreciation.

“The advantages it can offer include increased juiciness and a more muscle-like texture. The biggest challenge in HME is to combine the right ingredients with the right process parameters. With our R&D capacity in protein, hydrocolloids and flavors, as well as our pilot plant, IFF is able to identify the best combinations.”

High-moisture extrusion may be used with a range of plant sources, including soy, wheat gluten, peas, beans and various other legumes, he added.

“At IFF, we use our reimagine protein innovation program to come up with new concepts that can differentiate products,” Lamm said. “Beyond combining protein with specific ingredients, we’re also working on new highly functional proteins and flavors, which will be dedicated to extrusion. They will help manufacturers achieve cost reductions as well as improving textures.”

Working to make the alternative protein category more sustainable, Minneapolis-based Cargill has expanded its partnership with Enough, which produces fermented protein. Cargill is investing in Enough’s Series C growth funding and has signed a commercial agreement to use and market Enough’s fermented protein.

Enough’s technology enables protein production of its Abunda mycoprotein. Abunda is grown by feeding fungi with sugars from grain and then fermenting it. Cargill’s glucose syrup is a main source.

“To help solve agriculture’s biggest challenge — feeding a growing population in a safe, sustainable and responsible way — we need all forms of protein on the table,” said Sandy De Houwer, global marketing director, meat and dairy alternatives for Cargill. “That’s why we have been an early supporter of mycoprotein production, viewing it is another tool to help us address the growing need for more sustainable protein sources.”

Potential applications for Abunda include meatless sausage, burgers or chicken patties; meat extenders in which Abunda mycoprotein replaces a portion of the meat for savings on costs and nutrition improvement; and seafood alternatives like crab cakes, fish fingers and tuna steaks.

3D printing

Cargill also has invested in Cocuus, a food technology startup based in Spain that produces 3D-printed plant-based bacon alternatives. Cargill contributed funding for a new Cocuus facility in Spain.

“We are exploring what the next generation of food will look like, a great example of which can be found in our investment in Cocuus,” De Houwer said. “By combining our research and innovation capabilities with Cocuus’ unique technology, together we can unlock distinct alternative protein solutions.”

Cocuus may expand its 3D printing to vegan alternatives for tuna and shrimp.

“It (3D printing) produces different textures, colors, flavors and so on, all within the same product unit,” said Javier Zaratiegui, chief executive officer of Cocuus. “Many meat products present different organoleptic characteristics — fat, tastes, colors and shapes, etc. — and this is crucial for the consumer experience.”

Since they may be manufactured with traditional technologies, products like hamburgers or sausages are easier for the plant-based industry to mimic, he said.

“But the more sophisticated a product is, such as bacon, where you need a crust, fat and meat all in one experience, the better 3D technology performs,” Zaratiegui said.

Cocuus is expanding into other European Union countries besides Spain and hopes to enter the US market.

“Without any doubt, we see opportunity in the US,” Zaratiegui said. “The US bacon market is the biggest in the world, and it’s also top in terms of plant-based developments. We plan to achieve a growing distribution in the US by the end of 2025.”

Steakholder Foods Ltd., Rehovot, Israel, offers 3D printers and consumables to create products from cells, with cultivated/cellular meat being an example. Potential impacts of cultivated meat include 78% to 96% less greenhouse gases, 51% to 78% less freshwater use and 63% to 95% less land use, according to Steakholder Foods.

Steakholder Foods offers its 3D printers, printing ink formulated from constituent raw materials, operating software and services to manufacturers.

The company in January announced it expanded its 3D-printing capabilities by creating plant-based 3D-printed shrimp designed to mimic the texture and flavor of conventional shrimp. The shrimps were precision-printed on Steakholder Foods’ DropJet printer, which is designed for fish and seafood printing, using shrimp-flavored ink developed by Steakholder Foods.