DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences' new plant-based solutions range
06 Jul 2020 | DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences
DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences has rolled out a new eco-centric food and beverage brand, Danisco Planit, with new offerings in solutions for plant-based beverages, dairy alternatives, meat, fish and seafood. Meat shortages throughout the COVID-19 pandemic are noted by company executives as having an upswing effect on the appetite for meatless offerings. As this grows more prominent, the diversification of products is now key for meat and dairy alternative producers to retain this viability.
This is Benjamin Ferreir on behalf of Food Ingredients.
First, I'm joined here today by Amy Beirick, and she is the food and beverage global business leader at DuPont Nutrition and Biosciences.
Amy is here to discuss how DuPont Nutrition and Biosciences has rolled out a new food and beverage branding, which has new offerings and products and services driven by a focus on health, sustainability, and of course, labor.
Hi, Amy.
Hi Ben.
Yes.
So, could you tell us what are some of the examples of unique and starring ingredients under your brand Vinisco planted?
I think, what's really the most unique thing about this Denico Planet, launch that we're making is that it's more than just the products.
So it's really about, yes, the full range of the portfolio that we sell, which is a lot of different ingredients in it, but it's also with the expertise, the capabilities, and the formulation know-how that we bring, to our customers.
So, there's a lot of familiar product names and ingredient names within, the.
Planet portfolio, you'd probably recognize Supro and Truro from the protein space, DISCO, the veggie cultures, for, fermentation of plant-based, dairy, and also the Veggie den stabilizer Systems which is also a new launch.
So we have this whole breadth of the product portfolio, but as I said, Dnisco Planet is much more than just the ingredients, it's also that know-how and the approach, to the market.
How do you guide manufacturers to reap the benefits from this new range of solutions?
I think that's and that's a little bit what I was referring to earlier in terms of that formulation, know-how and going beyond just ingredients.
I think what we really believe can make the difference is that we can co-create with our customers.
So my guidance would be, to the extent that customers come to us and ask us to provide a single ingredient, they're in a way tying our hands in terms of how we can really provide value.
Under this brand, I would really suggest it's the idea of co-creation and collaboration, bringing our market and consumer insights together with theirs, looking for white spaces of where we can actually, develop new tasting and food experiences.
For consumers.
So really coming together to say, look, at the end of the day, what we're trying to do is create plant-based eating experiences which broaden the, the market potential, bring new experiences to our customers.
So it's really about that collaboration.
Looking at our own capabilities that we have within this planet brand, it comes really down to also our sensory capabilities which are our world-class, and this is really key because again, a food experience is not about the ingredients, it's about the full combination of taste.
Texture, smell, all the sensory experiences coming together.
So it's that combination and how we can partner with our customers, to really bring the full value, both of the breadth of the ingredient portfolio, but all of that know-how, and innovation capability with them.
Yes, and DuPont is spotlighting this, you won't, it's called a you won't believe it's not X trend.
Could you provide?
Yeah, I think this is really interesting and it's really where I think we're at a turning point, in the development of this whole plant-based industry around the world.
You know, it used to be, look, innovation in this plant-based space was all about mimicking and being like what existed, so meat alternative being like meat, dairy alternative being like traditional dairy.
And I think we're actually starting to move beyond that.
You know, I think now what we're trying to do is mainstream consumers aren't necessarily looking to try to avoid meat and therefore, or dairy.
They're just looking to diversify, looking for a more sustainable solution, and looking to try to widen the food space.
You know, if you look at the last couple of years, initially, all this whole plant-based trend was really a niche, and what the exciting thing that we see about it now is we're going beyond niche into mainstream.
And so what we're really trying to do is get past that direct comparison.
We talk about innovation, be getting beyond imitating.
Really getting beyond trying to mimic what exists in more traditional products and trying to create new experiences.
So I think this is really the turning point, which is what is so exciting and really why we decided to relaunch, a lot of the existing ingredients, but under this new brand, which really talks so much more than just about the, you won't believe it's not X, but actually getting past that and getting to, this is an entirely new food and eating experience.
And you specialize in the mushers, probiotics, fibers, antioxidants.
What's your commentary on functional plant-based innovation?
Yeah, I think this is an area where there's is still a lot more potential.
If you look at the penetration of probiotics, fibers, sort of enriched formulations and more traditional, particularly more traditional dairy, it's much more sophisticated and it's penetrated beyond what it is in the plant-based space.
So this is an area where we really should be able to increase dramatically the number of launches, where we are going to that functional claim.
Healthier food really creating a functional benefit, to consumers.
And these alternatives, you know, we see the huge trends and there's an enormous debate about how do we make these products healthier, lower fat, more fiber, more protein, and this is a really key area for us in terms of innovation.
So I think we see, the growth rate, of These applications into functional foods and healthier foods should outpace more traditional elements, but again, I think it's been under penetrated if we look at the launches that we've seen in the last couple of years, that functional element hasn't been there.
Now, the focus as we look, in the last year or two has really been about getting to that pleasurable eating experience, getting past the meat, the, the niche, getting into mainstream.
Having a larger number of consumers opting for plant-based alternatives, and there's some really interesting statistics out there.
I think it's roughly 46% of adults globally are looking to increase the amount of plant-based food that they have.
The diet.
It's not to go vegan, it's not to completely change their diet, but it's to increase it so that, that focus on sustainability and functional as part of our food choices is certainly taken a huge step, over recent years.
And what further R&D efforts are you focusing on to expand your, Deniscope content range?
Yeah, look, as as I say, I think, you know, one of the things that we've seen in, even in the last, in, in the COVID days is, you know, how much plant-based has really taken off and boosting demand.
So I think, you know, if you look at overall of our innovation space, it's, it's twofold.
It's one is to say, look, this innovation is now here to stay, and this, this change in trend is here to stay.
So we have a wide variety of different innovation, programs underneath.
A piece of it is customization, taste and texture, what tastes good in this plant-based space, like in all food spaces is very different by geography, and we see this trend across the globe.
So there's a piece of our innovation portfolio which is very much focused on how do we get the right taste, texture, eating experience for each specific geography.
There's another piece of it which is to say, look, again, it's not just about mimicking, OK, when in an occasion, a barbecue, when somebody wants to have a burger or sausage, we want to provide them a plant-based alternative.
Again, it's getting beyond that imitation and actually trying to create new eating experiences.
So we have a range of our innovation which is focusing on how do we enter different eating experiences, snacking, all the various ways and times that we could be looking for.
An alternative, and it doesn't again have to be exactly mimicking.
And then I think the third thing again is all about sensory, so continuing to push towards cleaner label, more sustainable, and then this real sensory experience, which is unique and allows us to be a choice that people make, not just because of Wanting to be healthier and more sustainable, but because it's actually a better product and it actually is a pleasure for people to eat.
So those are really, so it's sort of the globalization element, it's the full sensory package that we can deliver in the plant-based space.
Those are sort of the key areas of innovation.
Very comprehensive.
Thank you, Amy.
