MISTA collaboration with flavor giants whips up designer plant-based yogurt base

17 Mar 2022 --- MISTA members AAK, Chr. Hansen, Givaudan and Ingredion have merged their tech knowledge to co-create a plant-based, high-performance yogurt base. What makes the base a cut above the rest is it can help customers move from development to market rapidly.

The yogurt base is made of plant-based proteins, “designer” cultures, protein binders and flavors with unique functional enhancers.

“The base is not only a combination of technologies from each of the MISTA members, AAK, Ingredion, Chr. Hansen and Givaudan; it is also the know-how of the best combinations, use levels and treatment methods that led us to this strong base,” Rahul Shinde, head of innovation integration at MISTA, tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

 “At the core of it, we have high-quality pea and faba proteins and tapioca starch from Ingredion. In combination with AAK’s specialty fat blend of coconut and sunflower oil, this was fermented using cultures specifically designed for plant-based ingredients by Chr. Hansen.” 

“Givaudan enhanced the formulation further by deploying their protein binder and flavor technology to create a stirred yogurt base,” Shinde explains.

Yogurt base ready for international liaison
Samples of MISTA’s plant-based yogurt base are available to customers in the US, Europe and parts of Latin America. Large, small or emerging brands can use it to accelerate their time to market and tweak the formulation to meet brand requirements.

“A yogurt base is the optimal combination of protein, starch and fat followed by fermentation that creates a standard product that can be differentiated with value-added ingredients like natural flavors or health-based ingredients,” says Shinde.The yogurt base is made with pea and faba beans. 

A potential customer can start their development with the standard base and add targeted ingredients such as almond milk, cocoa powder or ginseng. This allows for versatility instead of starting with specific plant milk as a base for fermentation.

A base for multiple food applications
The base has been designed for versatility and can be used in various applications, from indulgent dessert yogurts to breakfast staples. 

Shinde elaborates: “We understand that some customers might want to tweak the label claims or differentiation formulation. We will work with such customers to deliver on their desired intent.

“As it’s a standard base, we’re looking forward to working with various customers and seeing where they can take this. A great example would be using this base for ethnic yogurt solutions where plant-based hasn’t been explored yet, such as Shrikhand or Dahi Chutney or Tzatziki,” he says. 

Givaudan’s protein binder and masker flavor solutions help mask off-notes in plant-based proteins while also enhancing the flavor profile and release. Texturizing cultures from Chr. Hansen improves the performance of the plant proteins and starches to create an appealing mouthfeel. 

 Ingredion’s dispersible and clean tasting pea and faba proteins provide the nutrition, taste and mouthfeel to the plant-based yogurt, while AAK’s functional combination of fats deliver a smooth and creamy mouthfeel giving the yogurt a dairy-like taste.

By Inga de Jong