UK beverage brand Rude Health has launched its new Barista Coconut alternative milk to add to its range of gluten-free, plant-based milks. The barista range consists of the new launch, Barista Coconut, as well as Barista Oat, Barista Almond and Barista Soya. The improved line now has “improved taste, creaminess, functionality and a lower RRP”. Bertel Haugen, head of innovation at Rude Health, commented: “A quarter of Brits now have a high-quality at-home coffee machine and our new barista range allows shoppers to replicate their out-of-home coffee experience at home. Not only have we improved functionality, creaminess and taste, we’ve also adopted our usual no-compromise approach to ingredient quality and sourcing. All four new drinks are made with only natural ingredients, nothing artificial and we’ve used sustainably sourced ingredients including non-GMO European soya beans and Mediterranean almonds.” The range, including newly released Barista Coconut, will be available in one-litre cartons for an RRP of £2 from May in Waitrose, Ocado and Amazon. #alternativemilks #RudeHealth #UK

MycoTechnology has raised $85 million in a Series E funding round, bringing its total fundraising to date to more than $200 million. Colorado-based MycoTechnology creates functional food ingredients from the root-like fungus structure, mycelium. The company uses a proprietary fermentation process to create novel ingredients addressing areas such as sugar reduction, sustainable protein and nutrient density. Its ingredient portfolio includes FermentIQ protein, a line of plant-based protein products, and ClearIQ, a range of flavour modulation tools that facilitate sugar and salt reduction. The Series E round was led by a group affiliated with Oman Investment Authority (OIA). In addition, the round included Rage Capital, Siddhi Capital, S2G Ventures, Tyson Ventures, Continental Grain Company, Bunge Ventures and Maple Leaf Foods, among others. Aiming to achieve ‘global scale,’ MycoTechnology says it is now positioned to bring its product portfolio to more consumers. The company plans to focus on expanding in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Alan Hahn, CEO and co-founder of MycoTechnology, said: “This fundraise is a validation of the potential of our breakthrough proposition and next-generation ingredients. It will be a catalyst to accelerate our growth further and faster. “The investment will power the imagination of our incredible team, driving our plans to add more new-to-the-world ingredients from the fungal kingdom.” #MycoTechnology #US

The Flavourists, a new plant-based meal kit brand backed by Samworth Brothers, is launching in the UK. The brand is debuting with two ranges: Sizzle Kits, which come in Creamy Makhani Style Curry and Yellow Thai Style Curry variants; and Sizzle & Stir, which includes Sticky Teriyaki and Herby Green Pesto offerings. Ready in under 15 minutes, each meal serves two. The Flavourists meal kits will be available through Waitrose from 6 April, Booths from 19 May and Ocado from 30 May. “Our plan was always to create a plant-based brand, but when we started to dive into the figures and consumer conversations within this sector, it was so clear that it wasn’t just vegans asking for great-tasting plant-based dishes, it was everyone,” said Halley. “Consumers are looking for inspiration and experimentation. The growing need for new, aromatic flavours is what has inspired many of our dishes, specifically our Yellow Thai Curry, Makhani Curry and Herby Green Pesto. Stir-frying, crunchy textures and sun-dried ingredients are also in demand, so we’ve brought these to life in our dishes and garnishes where possible too.” #mealkits #SamworthBrothers #TheFlavourists #UK

Atlas Bar has expanded its protein bars portfolio with the addition of three new plant-based bars in the US. The new plant-based protein bars flavours include: coconut almond, dark chocolate sea salt and peanut butter dark chocolate. The bars are made with real food ingredients, are keto-friendly and contain no added sugar. Formulated with a 300-mg dose of ashwagandha, each 45g pack contains 15g of protein and less than 1g of sugar. According to Atlas Bar, the brand is the first and only protein bar to support physical and mental wellness. Atlas Bar’s founder, James Oliver, said: “Our goal at Atlas Bar is to help people become the best version of themselves through mind- and- body nutrition. With our plant-based bars, we can now provide options for all of our customers, helping everyone make a positive choice for their health and the planet.” Atlas protein bars are available for purchase at retailers nationwide, including Sprouts, Stop & Shop and Lifetime Fitness. #AtlasBar #plantbased #proteinbars #US

ADM has developed a proprietary white colour solution, called PearlEdge. The PearlEdge line is made using natural ingredients, such as corn starch, and delivers a vibrant, stable and uniform white colouring for a range of food and beverage applications. “Our team has been diligently working to perfect our new line of white colour solutions, assuring its groundbreaking quality and performance,” said Hélène Moeller, VP of global product marketing at ADM. “This rollout meets the evolving needs of customers and consumers, as brands look for titanium dioxide (TiO2) replacements that not only provide a bright white shade but also meet clean-label targets.” ADM says its PearlEdge line aims to meet formulation challenges where “other plant-based white colourants fall short”. The solution is said to perform well in powdered drink mixes and beverages; bakery icings and fillings; sugar-free offerings; soups, sauces and dressings; dairy and dairy alternatives; and meat alternatives. Moeller added: “We’re particularly excited about the possibilities with our PearlEdge Silk and Satin patent-pending technology. With superior stability and performance as well as a white colour of similar intensity as TiO2, PearlEdge Silk and Satin are game-changers for smooth white appearances in applications like panned confections and compressed tablets.” In November 2021, Cargill also released its Bright White colour solution for the chocolate sector. More news from this company? ADM opens first innovation centre in Latin America ADM acquires flavour distributor Comhan Seven emerging trends shaping the alternative protein market #ADM #colourings #naturalcolours #white

Benecol has introduced a range of plant-based oat yogurts and health shots that are enriched with plant stanols – said to help lower cholesterol. The range consists of yogurts and shots, both made with Finish oats. Flavours include strawberry, raspberry & blueberry, mango, blueberry and plain. The range is also gluten-free. Plant stanols have gained popularity in recent years, praised for their ability to lower cholesterol, a risk factor for coronary heart disease. Sneahmoyee Banerjee, brand manager at Benecol, said: “We’re hugely excited to announce the launch of our new Benecol Oat range, it will increase our consumer offer and bring innovative healthy solutions to the cholesterol-lowering category. The new Oat range provides younger, more discerning consumers with a product that is proven to help lower cholesterol, without compromising on great taste. The new oat range will be available in the UK across Sainsbury’s, Asda, Ocado and Waitrose retailers. Oat shots: 100g, RRP £3.95 Oat Yog♥rt pots: 350g, RRP £2.50 #drinkableyogurt #Raisio #oat #yogurt #Benecol #healthshot #plantbased

Beyond Meat and PepsiCo‘s joint venture, Planet Partnership, has released its debut product made with plant-based protein – meatless jerky. Beyond Meat Jerky is available in three variants: Original, Hot & Spicy and Teriyaki. The ‘beef’ jerky is marinated and slow-roasted and contains plant-based ingredients such as peas and mung beans, as well as 10g of protein, no cholesterol, GMOs, soy or gluten. Founded in 2021, Planet Partnership plans to produce snacks and beverages, expanding its technology and growth within the plant-based protein market. Dan Moisan, CEO of Planet Partnership, said: “We are thrilled to introduce the first product from Planet Partnership, our joint venture with Beyond Meat and PepsiCo. The nationwide launch of Beyond Meat Jerky will make plant-based meat accessible to millions of households. It tastes great, it’s a good source of protein and it’s convenient to eat whether you’re on the go, at the office or out on adventures.” The brand’s first shelf-stable launch will be available in three different sized packs, with pending availability across grocery stores, gas stations, club stores and pharmacies. #BeyondMeat #PepsiCo #PlanetPartnership #plantbasedprotein

Malt loaf brand Soreen has launched new limited-edition mini loaves, available in two flavours – Raspberry & White Choc and Gingerbread. The individually wrapped mini loaves contain under 100 calories per bar and are vegan-friendly. Liz Jacobs, marketing director at Soreen, said: “Our brightly coloured packaging and tasty limited-edition flavours, offers families a healthier option at Easter. Each mini loaf is under 100 calories, low in saturated fat and individually wrapped with no crumbs, creating the perfect on the go snack for kids.” She continued: “Our Spring mini loaves also contain no reds in their nutritional traffic lights. We took the decision to feature the traffic light nutritionals on the front of our packs in 2017 to make it easier for parents to make healthier choices”. The new releases come in multipacks of five and are available in the cake aisle in supermarkets across the UK. #maltloaf #Soreen #UK

Growing demand for alternative proteins has been driving the development of new technology solutions for large-scale manufacturing of food ingredients. Among the main market drivers is sustainability, a cornerstone in the shift to alternative proteins and plant-based ingredients, with an impact on the environmental footprint as well as the financial viability of a manufacturing plant, as Gregory See Hoye explains. As new alternative and plant-based products are introduced to the market, innovations in process technologies based on R&D initiatives are critical to ensure that product integrity is maintained throughout scale-up and commercialisation. Dedert Corporation understands how sustainable design and process customisation are connected. With focused technical expertise in drying and evaporation, Dedert equally supports growing start-up companies and established market leaders with their goals for product development, process innovation and full-scale operation. Drying technologies In the manufacture of plant-based protein isolates, spray drying is usually automatically acknowledged as the required technology, likely a carryover mindset from the traditional production of dairy proteins. Spray drying offers many advantages and is certainly required in these applications, but careful consideration of the product’s end use may reveal opportunities for alternative technologies or other integrated solutions. From an energy perspective, thermal drying naturally carries an important cost related to fuel requirements or other heating sources due to the latent heat of vaporisation of water of about 970 BTU/lb (2256 kJ/kg). With a generally low solids content in protein feed streams, spray drying therefore consumes considerable energy compared to other technologies. The resulting production cost contributes to the product’s profitability with respect to the market price. Higher value applications like health products or nutraceuticals may be more forgiving to these costs, but products targeting feed or food applications may prompt a need for cost-saving solutions. Process efficiency can be gained by shifting moisture reduction away from the thermal drying step. Current development around integration of mechanical dewatering, pre-concentration and reduced thermal drying processes are gaining attention. This arrangement, or a similar combination of related technologies, results in lower water evaporation requirements through thermal drying, and also opens the opportunity to consider alternate drying technologies such as ring drying. With these innovations, plant-based protein operations could potentially expect reductions in production costs, resulting in higher product profitability and easier access to market (especially for new products). Evaporation technologies In addition to energy efficiency, water management is another area of sustainable design investigation. Many possible solutions can be considered, but the implementation of an evaporator on the wastewater stream provides a simple process to improve environmental impact. In many locations, municipalities have limitations on organic concentration in wastewater streams from manufacturing facilities. Evaporation can separate water from the solids, yielding a condensate stream that can be more readily discharged from the plant. Meanwhile, the concentrated product, or the solids fraction, becomes a nutrient-rich value-added product that can be used as a liquid fertiliser or blended with fibre for animal feed. For additional benefit, the condensate stream from an evaporator can also be recovered as a heat source. Example applications include feed pre-heating for the evaporator itself, as well as ambient air heating and process air heating in other operational stages. Through process equipment supplier partnerships, opportunities for process water recovery can also be realised. With further treatment and cleaning, the evaporator’s condensate stream can be a water source integrated into an upstream water-consuming process to reduce fresh water consumption. Other potential areas of investigation include integration between dryers and evaporators (implemented in the form of waste-heat evaporators driven by dryer exhaust gases), as well as innovations using new technologies available to condense water vapour from various processes. Such process integrations between the upstream water users and downstream evaporation and drying technologies could result in water recovery for use as process water or other improved sustainability benefits. Summary The alternative protein market is evolving faster than expected. As a result, a focus on a key driver of the market shift, sustainability, needs to be considered early in the manufacturing process design to match the core consumer values. This sustainable design approach offers economic and operational benefits to the ingredients manufacturers by applying optimised technologies with better efficiency to reduce utilities consumption. Strategic partnerships between manufacturers, process providers and equipment suppliers are important to successfully implement a holistic approach to sustainable process design, requiring a like-minded collaboration to ensure a seamlessly integrated process solution. This approach will open opportunities to lower the cost of operations and therefore provide easier access to market for new product innovations that meet changing customer expectations in a growing industry. About Dedert Corporation Dedert Corp. has partnered with the top ingredients manufacturers across many industries for over 50 years, witnessing first-hand how traditional process technologies can remain established while market demand evolves to new expectations. Our design innovations, ranging from falling-film evaporators to ring drying and multi-stage spray drying, are developed from R&D pilot plant testing and optimised for full-scale operation based on customised needs for our clients. ############### Gregory See Hoye is market manager at Dedert Corporation, a drying and evaporation technology solutions provider. His current role focuses on supporting developments in the manufacturing of plant-based food ingredients. Greg has 17 years’ experience in the food and agrifood sectors, with 12 years specialising in evaporation and drying solutions. #partnercontent #DedertCorporation #technology #alternativeproteins #plantbasedproteins

UK pastry brand Higgidy has launched a new range of veggie and vegan-friendly products, which includes quiches, slices and pies. The new line consists of a limited-edition summer release vegetable quiche, Petit Pois & Whipped Feta, which encompasses mint, courgettes and peas, combined with feta and ricotta and encased in seeded spelt shortcrust pastry. Higgidy is also expanding its vegan range with the release of its second Little Vegan Quiche – with a Petit Pois & Courgette with a hint of mint & chilli option. The brand is also launching its Roasted Chickpea Masala Vegan Pie, which is an Indian-inspired, layered curry pie. The range varies in RRP from £2.40 to £4.40 and will be available in Waitrose and Sainsbury’s from April. #Higgidy #pastry #UK

Artisan British crisp company Fairfields Farm has transitioned to becoming a fully vegan brand, with the release of its plant-based Cheese & Onion crisps. The brand has adapted its existing Cheese & Onion flavoured crisps to create a dairy-free version, joining its other vegan flavours which include Bacon & Tomato, Rib of Beef, Sweet Chilli and Sea Salt & Black Pepper. The company, which creates its snacks using renewable energy, uses potatoes grown on its independent family farm on the border of Essex and Suffolk. Laura Strathern, co-founder of Fairfields Farm Crisps, said: “We are all very excited to introduce our new vegan-friendly Cheese & Onion flavour crisps. The demand for plant-based snack choices is greater than ever and after the success of both our Bacon & Tomato and Rib of Beef vegan-friendly crisps, we decided it was time to launch another much-loved flavour. We’re particularly happy at this delicious development because it marks our brand’s transition to being entirely free of dairy and meat, as well as gluten.” Fairfields’ Cheese & Onion crisps have launched in 40g packs for an RRP of 80p and will be launching in 150g packs for an RRP of £1.99 from May. They are available from East of England Co-op’s and independent retailers nationwide across the UK, as well as on the brand’s website. #crisps #FairfieldsFarm #UK

Peter McGuinness Impossible Foods has appointed former Chobani president and COO, Peter McGuinness, as its new CEO, effective April 4. McGuinness has 30 years of consumer expertise, most recently at Chobani, where he scaled operations and drove business growth. Impossible Foods, the producer of meat-free products such as the Impossible Burger, Impossible Sausage and Impossible Meatballs, is expanding its leadership team due to its rapidly accelerating product pipeline and continued global expansion. Pat Brown, current CEO and founder of Impossible Foods, said: “Peter and I will work together to lead Impossible and its long-term strategy, combining our complementary strengths and experience. Peter will be our CEO and a director and will report to the board. I will continue in my role as founder and director, and take on the role of chief visionary officer reporting to the board, leading research and technology innovation, strategic initiatives, public advocacy and, most importantly, our mission.” Last year, Impossible Foods secured $500m in a funding round. #Chobani #ImpossibleFoods