On August 21, Marília Gonçalves, application specialist at DuPont Nutrition & Bioscience participated in a company in FISA’s WarmUp.
During the event, Marília outlined an overview of new consumer habits and recent innovations that are expanding the offer of proteins and market opportunities.
If you were unable to attend the presentation “Vegetable Proteins: Connection and Innovation with a focus on the new consumer”, we have prepared a summary of the interview conducted especially for you. Click on the link in our BIO to check the content.
We have prepared a summary of these questions especially for you. Check out!
Plant Based is already a trend and there are more and more new product launches. Do you believe it is already a reality? What do you think consumers understand about plant based and what do they expect?
Vegetable-based products, offered as alternatives to those of animal origin, are not exactly new. His focus, however, has always been the vegetarian or vegan audience. This is past. Surveys show that 67% of Brazilians are interested in vegetable proteins. People of all ages crave more vegetables in which to eat and drink for a variety of reasons. The main one is the greatest concern with health and well-being, but the reasons go further. In other words: if previously plant-based products were dedicated to a niche, from now on they will have to serve the general public. But what should the food and beverage industries do to consolidate the plant-based in the mainstream market?
More and more consumers will want innovative, interesting, convenient, affordable and tasty products. The idea is to think less about plant-based as an alternative, and more about ways to make it be present in more consumption occasions, in people’s daily lives. Today the consumer has information in the palm of their hands and I believe that the vast majority understand that a plant based product is made from plants and has no animal ingredients, they understand that it is a product that brings more health, but it does not open flavor hand.
Furthermore, Sustainability is a great driver of the plant-based market.
On the one hand, because consumers increasingly want products that are good for themselves, but also good for the planet. On the other, for a structural issue. In a few decades, it will hardly be possible for the world population to enjoy a diet strongly based on animal protein, such as the current one.
It is predicted, for example, that sales of vegetable beverages will evolve annually in Brazil at an average rate of 13% in volume by 2024.
New sources of vegetable protein are observed every day to replace soybeans. Is this movement observed by DuPont?
The search for the fashionable protein remains a constant.
We observe this demand and, on the other hand, customers end up understanding that soy is the main source of vegetable protein, as it is nutritionally complete, economically viable and presents a greater product offer to the market.
Several products launched, including worldwide, which contain other vegetable protein sources highlighted on the front of the product packaging, generally use soy as the main ingredient.
Consumers of plant-based products are becoming more and more informed about protein sources and nutritional quality, and soy is irreplaceable in this regard.
Thinking about sensory attributes, what is the consumer really looking for?
We usually divide this customer need into 3 main pillars:
FLAVOR, TEXTURE / CONSISTENCY and CONVENIENCE.
Dupont is a science and technology company and always focuses on customer needs. With this in mind, last year, Trupro 2000 was launched in our region, a pea protein, 83% protein content (dry basis), with excellent flavor, solubility, suspension stability and dispersibility.
What is TRUPRO™ 2000 Pea protein?
FLAVOR
83% protein ingredient (dry base), providing:
Superior taste and mouthfeel performance.
During product development, the team of experts selected 19 market samples and identified positive qualities and what needed to be improved within what was already in the market. The descriptive profile of 19 pea protein samples reveals large differences in basic flavor characteristics between the samples.
In a sensory panel carried out after this development by Trupro, the product presented:
+ 43% improvement in overall taste
+ 45% improvement in taste preference
+ 57% improvement in the taste sensation in the mouth
Unlike most available pea proteins, TRUPRO™ 2000 does not destabilize quickly (it stays in suspension longer).
When compared to 20 different pea proteins (>80% protein), TRUPRO™ 2000 pea protein demonstrated SUPERIOR STABILITY
The results indicate that drinks made with TRUPRO™ 2000 Pea Protein will not separate quickly and will have a more desirable mouthfeel, ie less gritty.
In addition to the TRUPRO protein powder line, the TRUPRO Nuggets line of extruded pea protein was also launched. Within this portfolio we have products with 55% protein up to 70% protein and with different shapes (one more oval, the other irregular in shape), gluten-free, non-GMO and not declared as allergenic.
TEXTURA
This extrudate can be used in various applications such as bars, cookies, cakes. It’s a “crunchy” way to add protein to products. A classic example is cereal bars. If we think of a mains stream product, this one will have an input of sugars and carbohydrates mainly. A simple replacement of rice flakes by Nuggets will bring a super important protein input, without major impacts on the formulation, production line adaptation, etc.
CONVENIENCE
Challenge: How to Attract and Keep Consumers
Dispersion is an Important Product Attribute for Consumers
Dispersibility Issues May Impact Consumer Experience with the Brand*
With this need in mind, Dupont launched Supro XT221D, an isolated soy protein that fully disperses in 9s.
When consumers prepared Proteic Powder Supplement prototypes for consumption, the prototype containing SUPRO® XT 221D was significantly preferred versus other prototypes with the same formulation.
With our chat, I could see that you have several solutions for this market. How do you explore all this content?
We know the challenge in this market is huge and that’s why we launched Danisco Planit™️. It is a new global brand that represents the entire competence of DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences in plant-based. It brings together the broadest portfolio of its kind in the ingredients industry, with global manufacturing and distribution; a vast knowledge of application, market and consumer; state-of-the-art sensory analysis capability; regulatory support; and evaluation of sustainability indices.
In line with plant based trends, MasterSense offers a complete DuPont line of plant proteins.
Discover our portfolio: https://www.mastersense.com/en
