“Versatile, sustainable and clean”: InnovoPro presents chickpea ingredient as front-runner in plant-protein space

09 Oct 2019 --- Israeli food-tech company InnovoPro is tapping into increasing demands in the plant-based space by developing appealing products based on its chickpea protein in applications such as dairy alternatives, meat analogs, snacks and sauces. Currently, the market for plant-based protein is estimated at US$40 billion. However, InnovoPro is targeting the even-larger, US$900 billion market of meat, fish and poultry, where new opportunities for providing protein-rich products exist. Taly Nechushtan, CEO of InnovoPro, tells FoodIngredientsFirst that one of the biggest challenges since setting up has been to “increase our production capacity fast enough to answer the market demand.”

Last month, InnovoPro and Israel-based Wyler Farms, a tofu company, entered into a successful cooperation for the launch of non-dairy products for the Israeli market. InnovoPro’s flagship ingredient CP-Pro 70, its chickpea protein concentrate, is part of an innovative non-dairy beverage product line to be launched by Wyler Farms.

The cooperation is the “perfect alliance” to offer consumers non-dairy alternatives, according to Gilad Tzory, CEO of Wyler Farms. “It will allow us to launch a unique non-dairy milk alternative for the Israeli market in order to meet the increasing demand for delicious and nutritious non-dairy products. CP-Pro 70 chickpea protein, with its high functionality and clean-label properties, has enabled us to successfully develop groundbreaking products. These are the first products of their kind in the Israeli market, and more product launches are expected in the coming months,” he explains. 

Globally, consumers’ eating habits and their increased awareness and preference for healthier food, is resulting in the growth of the global plant-based protein market. Furthermore, consumers are increasingly concerned about sustainability and environmental issues as well as how their own actions can contribute to reducing negative environmental impacts.

Taly Nechushtan, CEO of InnovoProRecently, InnovoPro increased its scale with certified partners as well as planning its own production facility.

“We are shipping and selling globally, while currently focusing on marketing our CP-Pro 70, chickpea protein concentrate in the European market and the US,” Nechushtan explains. “These consumers are looking for tasty plant-based, healthy foods, which are high protein diets and suit Mediterranean diets, for example.”

“We have several customers in Europe that have launched different applications using our CP-Pro 70, chickpea protein concentrate, such as in meal replacements powders in the UK and sweet spreads in the Czech Republic.” The response has so far been excellent, Nechushtan notes. “Consumers love the creamy texture and clean taste,” she adds.

The chickpea protein is an innovative ingredient that enables formulating clean-label products with a short ingredient list, high-quality plant-based protein, without additives and without compromising on taste, texture, or appearance.

Chickpeas are recognized as safe plants, giving them an advantage over new sources of protein that are entering the market. They are produced in many European countries as well as in the US and Canada. In some countries, the production is well established for many years, such as Spain, Greece and Italy; while in other countries just recently, such as Ukraine, Georgia and France. 

Nechushtan believes that chickpea protein is “a superb substitute for some plant-based proteins as well as animal-based proteins and other functional ingredients.” 

Unlike other plant-based proteins, chickpea protein functions as an emulsifier and a foaming agent to provide dairy-free, gluten-free and egg-free food products with an airy and lightweight, but stable, texture, she notes. “Chickpea protein is both light in color and subtle in flavor, making it the perfect ingredient for many applications in the food and beverage industry.”

Chickpea protein also enables the removal of texturizing agents in an innovative natural production process, without the usage of additives. Furthermore, the chickpea protein is process-friendly for many industrial processes for preparing different applications, such as baking, homogenizing, extrusion and so on.

“Through our unique process, our overall utilization of the chickpea will be close to 100 percent, and therefore, completely aligned with sustainability and a zero-waste approach,” Nechushtan explains. Furthermore, InnovoPro's products are in-line with the end-consumer preferences and needs, with a unique combination of properties – tasty, functional, safe and sustainable.

InnovoPro is the first to introduce commercial chickpea protein CP-Pro 70. It provides:

• High functionality – high emulsification that enables the creation of clean label products.
• High nutritional value – 70 percent chickpea protein. 
• Highly digestible – PDCAAS of 0.8.
• Mild taste that doesn’t require any or minimal masking.
• Safety and sustainability – green process, non-GMO, not listed as an allergen.

“For sustainability reasons, we are looking to utilize 100 percent of the raw material, and are now working on other ingredients from chickpeas,” she adds.

As consumers continue to steer towards a healthier lifestyle, a large proportion of the western population consider themselves to be flexitarian, while the vegetarian and vegan population is also on the rise. More and more consumers are trying to add plants to their diets, lower their meat and dairy consumption and control their weight more efficiently. 

“Consequently, food companies would like to lower their overall footprint and increase their offering of dairy alternatives and meat analogs. However, there are often inherent problems with the existing plant-based proteins such as soy and pea protein,” Nechushtan affirms.

In addition to the process protocol, InnovoPro has developed a patent-pending application for several food products based on its chickpea protein. These applications may be used as substitutions for vital commodity products such as dairy and meat replacements as well as bread and bakery products. “We have an extensive application lab at our facility and our experts are continuously coming up with delicious and tasty formulations such as vegan ice-cream with only six to eight ingredients, or crunchy and melt-in-the-mouth, gluten-free vegan chocolate chip cookies,” she adds. 

The global protein ingredient market currently is divided into two main sectors: animal-based proteins, from sources such as meat, egg and milk, and plant-based proteins from sources such as soy, wheat, peas and others. 

“Most protein sources are on the market for many years and are commoditized,” continues Nechushtan. “When considering the chickpea protein concentrate, the unique combination of qualities such as safety and clean label, mild taste, functionality and high nutritional value, are the major differentiators from market-available alternatives. Taking into account the recent trend of reducing animal products and food items that contain gluten, chickpeas can be an excellent alternative due to their high nutritional content.”

Looking ahead to 2020, Nechushtan concludes that InnovoPro “will continue to form joint ventures, enlarge its customer base and develop more healthy ingredients for the food and beverage industry.”

By Elizabeth Green