Harbinder Maan, associate director of trade marketing and stewardship at Almond Board of California, highlights the benefits of formulating with almonds across different nutrition categories as demand rises for healthy and versatile ingredients.

The global plant-based market represented a $28.6 billion opportunity as of 2024, with North America and Europe commanding nearly 85% of retail sales. This creates unprecedented demand for ingredients that can deliver both performance and consumer acceptance.

In this competitive landscape, almonds are consistently delivering as the strategic cornerstone ingredient driving innovation across the rapidly expanding market.

Naturally nutritious

As the plant-based sector continues to grow in popularity, almonds stand out as an essential ingredient offering endless opportunities for breakthrough product development. With over 14 different forms available, almonds deliver the perfect trifecta for innovators: natural versatility, nutrient density and uncompromising performance that maintains both flavour integrity and desired texture profiles.

Their well-rounded nutrient composition makes almonds ideal for precision wellness applications, directly addressing the growing consumer demands for functional food and beverages. A single ounce (28g) of almonds provides 6g of protein, 4g of fibre, 13g of unsaturated fat (only 1g of saturated fat) and 15 essential nutrients, including 7.27mg of vitamin E (50% DV).

The taste opportunity

Beyond their nutritional benefits, almonds’ neutral flavour profile acts as a blank canvas for plant-based innovations. This unique characteristic enables seamless innovation across a wide array of applications – from sweet to savoury flavour profiles and diverse textures ranging from satisfyingly crunchy to luxuriously smooth – making almonds the ultimate ingredient for future generations of plant-based innovation.

This innovation potential directly addresses the consumer demand for textures and flavours in formulation. Innova Market Insights reports that 44% of consumers want to see improved flavour in plant-based products, alongside a demand for diversification of plant-based categories, with the largest being milk and meat alternatives. Almond-based formulations demonstrate how these dual challenges can be systematically solved.

Tackling formulation challenges

In beverage applications, for example, almond milk showcases exceptional processing adaptability that directly tackles the sensory limitations many plant-based alternatives can experience. Unlike other plant-based options, its neutral taste provides a perfect slate for desired flavours, facilitating the development of high-quality beverages.

Almond milk’s texture can also be enhanced for creaminess by increasing almond solids or incorporating emulsifiers. Advances like ultra-high-pressure homogenisation even enable the creation of rich foams for beverages like coffee. Almonds’ fat composition also contributes to smooth textures and a distinct nutty flavour that pairs well with coffee and sweet drinks.  

Functional benefits

Beyond addressing sensory challenges, almonds deliver functional health support in areas such as gut health and weight management that’s driving category growth.

According to Innova Market Insights, digestive and gut health-related claims are the leading drivers for functional food and beverage purchases. In fact, gut and digestive health is within the top five most desirable functions from food and beverage for multiple age groups, from Gen Z to Baby Boomers.

This consumer demand is increasingly supported by robust research evidence that strengthens product dependability and capabilities. Emerging research from Oregon State University demonstrates that daily almond consumption significantly improved markers of both gut and cardiovascular health in adults with metabolic syndrome.

Almonds offer multiple avenues for functional enhancement across product categories. Natural fibre content supports microbiome diversity research while contributing to satiety positioning – addressing both gut health and weight management trends simultaneously.

Versatile applications

Formulating products like snack bars or functional beverages with almonds naturally boosts their nutritional value. Incorporating almond protein powder, also known as defatted almond flour, offers a unique solution to sensory challenges. As a versatile alternative to dairy-based proteins like whey or casein, it can be added to protein powder blends, smoothies, bars and spreads. Its clean taste and extra-fine texture reduce the need for masking agents, allowing other ingredients to shine. 

The comprehensive ingredient portfolio that almonds provide – spanning protein powder, flour, whole forms, sliced formats and butter applications – offers formulators exceptional flexibility for system optimisation.

Each format delivers clean sensory characteristics and inherent binding properties that minimise formulation complexity, reducing reliance on masking agents or synthetic additives that can complicate ingredient statements.

This multifunctional capability supports both nutritional enhancement objectives and innovative product development across diverse categories – from high-protein beverages and shelf-stable bars to premium gluten-free baked goods – positioning almonds as a strategic platform ingredient for advancing plant-based innovation while meeting clean label requirements.