ChickP: Leveraging chickpeas for sustainable hybrids and clean label sports nutrition
05 Sep 2024 | ChickP
Karina Simonsen, key account and sales manager at ChickP, walks us through the company’s chickpea-derived protein portfolio, including the IP-protected “world’s first” 90% pure chickpea protein isolate. She discusses hybrids “as close as possible to dairy” and properties that make ChickP proteins suitable for athletes because they are free from common allergens.
I'm Anusha Manal, senior journalist with Food Ingredients First.
I'm here with Karina Simonsen, key account and sales manager at Chickpea.
The company offers several ingredients made from chickpeas, including the world's 1st 90% chickpea protein isolate.
Thanks for being with us, Karina.
My first question is, Chickpea has been developing hybrid products combining dairy and chickpea protein.
What advantages do these hybrids offer in terms of taste, texture, and consumer acceptance?
So thank you so much for having me.
And yes, we have actually developed in addition to our dairy alternative application with our chickpea protein, we have developed several hybrid application which is as close as possible to dairy products in terms of flavor, texture and color as as highly sustainable.
Yeah, I do think that both vegetarians and also flexittarians are looking for this type of products.
And this is where our excellent team of R&D led by Mao Dan have developed a variety of hybrid applications in order to create proof of concept for our customers to ensure that their end product is the perfect choice in.
We had at the last FAE in Frankfurt in November of last year, we introduced to , some of, of the leading dairy companies in Europe, some, The samples of our hybrid products which was a 50/50% inclusion rate with the chickpea protein and dairy, and they were amazed by the results, like they couldn't even believe that there was a blend of a plant-based protein inside.
So I think that's quite a good example of how our chickpea can be incorporated into hybrid products.
And how does chickpea protein isolate, support performance for athletes, and what makes it stand out in the sports nutrition market?
So our protein is a complete protein, meaning that it has all of the essential amino acid with high absorption and it can assist companies who wishes to develop the high protein-active nutrition product.
Our protein is free from all of the common allergens like dairy, soy, and gluten, as as non-GMO, and it makes it an option for athletes, with dietary restrictions, such as lactose intolerance or soying allergies, and it's really appealing for companies who are looking to develop a clean label sport nutrition.
So we have a different functionality in our protein line which support your customers with a wide range of ways for nutrition products.
Thanks for sharing.
How does chickpea protein enhance the texture and flavor compared to other plant proteins in dairy substitutes like yogurts and milk?
So our protein integrates very in plant-based area analogs and hybrid.
I always say that the, my kids when they were small, and I made a first of April joke on them, so I painted or I colored their milk green.
And when they saw it, they were like, oh mommy, what is this?
And I was like, you know, the cow ate grass and the milk become green.
And it just shows that they didn't want to touch it.
So if we have some other proteins which are less appealing in color or texture, or taste like soy and pea, which are excellent sources of protein, but if you want to have a really dairy-like a product with the same Mouth feel and taste and color, then chickpea protein would be the suitable solution.
You want to have something white and, and very look like and our functionality of the protein, for example, in the A930, it's an excellent emulsifiers and it provides with a very uniform texture of being , for yogurt or cheese analog, so, it has very satisfying texture.
How do you balance sustainability with the need to maintain high nutritional content in your protein products?
So our chickpeas are sourced from fields which are very, very close to our manufacturing site.
Which has a minimal environmental impact.
As you know, chickpeas, it's a very, very sustainable crop.
It enriched the soil with nitrogen.
It doesn't require a lot of water.
It can actually grow in, in semi-desert conditions and there's no use of fes fertilizers or pesticides in the growing of the chickpeas.
Which makes it a very, very, very sustainable and a healthy farming practice to ensure that our protein begins with an environmentally friendly foundation.
Our production process, which were designed and the, you know, IP patent is to maximize the nutritional content of chickpea while minimizing waste and energy use.
During that our typical protein is in.
Absorbed and easily digested is so In order to improve all of the health benefits of the chickpea.
Nice to know.
Thank you for sharing that.
What is next for chickpea and what consumer trends are exciting for the company at the moment?
I'm the team, working almost day and night, not only to improve our existing protein ingredients and to make it even better if it's possible, but also, to make extensions of our chickpea protein.
In fact, at the upcoming FIE in November, where we will be exhibiting in Frankfurt, we will be launching a new extension of the RTP proteins portfolio as as some new plant-based proteins, which are all produced according to our IP patent process.
And we will continue to serve our customers, providing them with a healthy nutrition.
Product and helping them with all of the new applications that they may need.
