DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences is debuting its naturally sourced Grindsted Gellan VEG 200 stabilizer, designed for “high-performance results” of innovative plant-based and vegan beverages, delivering stability with no impact on flavor release. Plant-based/vegan claim, health profile, clean label, premium taste and texture are noted as the most desired features of innovative products in this category.

“Produced by bacteria during fermentation of renewable, bio-based raw materials, Gellan VEG 200 is a purely natural solution. It provides excellent stability and particle suspension and minimal contribution to mouthfeel,” says Lise Stouby, Senior Scientist at DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences.

The stabilizer is marketed as suitable for a wide range of plant-sourced raw materials, has low protein reactivity and high performance across a broad pH range. Added directly into an ingredients mix, Gellan VEG 200 delivers a stabilizing network throughout the shelf life to maintain a homogenous and stable final product, the company states.

“We are proud to launch a product that answers critical manufacturers’ needs – ease of formulation and production. It’s available worldwide,” adds Kirsten Braüner Nygaard, Business Development Manager at DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences. 

Since 2014, the number of new vegan products increased by 35 percent, with beverages as one of the highest growing categories globally, as noted by the company. With six out of 10 US consumers increasing their consumption of plant-based foods and beverages in their daily diet, “alternatives” are becoming mainstream. 

Personal health is the key driver of this shift. In a DuPont-sponsored study conducted by HealthFocus, 42 percent of respondents said that they prefer more plant-based foods in their daily diet and more than half of all consumers said that it “makes me feel healthier.” 

Furthermore, the environmental component of this dietary shift is not negligible, as three out of four Millennials are willing to spend more on ethical products.

Earlier this month, the company premiered its Grinsted Plant-Tex egg white replacement system, with three different formulae, appropriate for vegan alternatives to burger patties, cooked sausages and cold cuts. Plant-Tex is touted as being cholesterol and allergen-free, as well as naturally sourced. The egg white replacement system is currently available in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, with products manufactured with Plant-Tex expected to reach the market by Q3 or Q4 this year and a worldwide roll out planned for 2020.

In other innovations within the dynamic plant-based space, DuPont’s Danisco is offering a line of VEGE cultures – a new portfolio of cultures specially formulated for the plant-based fermented products market. Danisco VEGE cultures have been developed for a wide-ranging variety of plant-based raw materials, such as soy, coconut, nuts, oat, maize, rice, fruits and vegetables, to satisfy consumer taste and texture expectation.

Last month, Swiss flavor house Givaudan identified the top six up-and-coming plant-based proteins that the company states could likely be “game-changers” for the industry, and, in particular, nutritional beverages. The proteins identified are oats, mung beans, garbanzo beans, lentils, flax and sunflower seeds, and were unveiled as the results of a research project conducted in collaboration with the University of California Berkeley’s Product Development Programme (UC Berkley).

By Benjamin Ferrer