Planteneers reveals blends to cut meat and dairy by half in flexitarian formulations

19 Aug 2021 --- Planteneers has developed two new solutions for hybrid plant and animal products, appealing to meat-eaters unwilling to compromise on taste. The fiildMeat+ and the fiildDairy+ range can help formulators cut the amount of meat or dairy by half in hybrid plant products while boosting sensory appeal.

Hello Hybrids
The resulting 50/50 burgers, nuggets, puddings, yogurts and cheeses, maintain authentic taste and texture while adding sustainability and health credentials. They also enable meat producers and dairies to enter the plant-based space without completely eliminating meat or milk from their formulations.

“Hello Hybrids” was one of the Top Ten Trends identified by Innova Market Insights last year, as a growing number of so-called carnivores look to incorporate more plants into their diets.

Hybrid meat-plant or dairy-plant combinations strike a balance between sustainable eating and optimal flavor and consistency. Planteneers leveraged its existing knowledge of plant-based stabilizing systems to develop the latest range.

Clean label innovation
Depending on the recipe, protein-rich legumes such as lentils or chickpeas are used with the new ranges, along with vegetables, to achieve the right flavor profile.  

“Wherever possible, we avoid ingredients with E numbers in our stabilizers, as well as our flavorings and flavor enhancers,” says Florian Bark, product manager at Planteneers. 

Dairy can be combined with plant drinks like oat milk for hybrid beverages.The components for flavor and color are kept separate – as usual – to give manufacturers broad scope for adjustment. 

The stabilizing systems consist of proteins and other plant-based components. The final products can be made with normal machines.

Daring to reduce dairy 
The fiildDairy+ range allows dairies to make blends that reduce the amount of milk by 50 percent, replacing it with plant components. The final product, for example, could be a drink consisting of half milk and half oat. 

Planteneers cites an in-house survey of 2,000 respondents, mostly students, which reveals the potential for plant-dairy combinations in this demographic. 

Just under half said they would try a combined milk- and plant-based beverage. A third said they would buy it, and 46 percent said they would like to see further hybrid dairy products. 

“In the development of our fiildDairy+ range, we paid special attention to getting the original flavor of the milk products,” reports Planteneers product manager Katharina Schäfer. 

“The final products can naturally be enriched with proteins, vitamins or minerals. In this way, it’s possible to appeal to the steadily growing number of consumers who want to eat healthier.”

Last month, dairy cooperative Laïta Nutrition urged dairies to “reinvent themselves,” acknowledging that eating habits are changing as plant-based foods come increasingly into focus. Planteneers’ fiildMeat+ allows meat producers to step into the plant-based space.

The environmental impact 
Reducing the amount of meat consumed in products has the potential to lead to significant environmental changes. 

“The meat market is enormous, with a worldwide production of 333 million metric tons per year. Reducing the amount of meat in ready meals and meat preparations by half would have a great influence on the market,” adds Bark. 

“Since the potential customers of these half-and-half products are mostly meat-eaters, this product range has tremendous sales potential.” 

Whether for ready meals or fresh products like bratwursts and ground meat, with the plant-based fiildMeat+ compounds, producers can make a variety of meat preparations. 

Industry reduces meat 
Earlier this month, Kröner-Stärke highlighted an increased demand of flexitarians in Europe with the launch of its bulk loading facility for its functional flour and starches. 

Additionally, this spring Planteneers unveiled fiildTex and fiildFish, plant-based solutions to replicate the taste and texture of salmon and tuna for vegan sushi applications. 

By Missy Green