FiE 2024: ADM combines culinary expertise with expanded protein choices
25 Nov 2024 | ADM
ADM chefs showcased a selection of combined protein solutions at Fi Europe 2024 in Frankfurt, Germany, exhibiting the latest in plant-based taste and texture formulations. Alicia Humpert, director of product marketing EMEA at ADM, explains how the company is expanding its protein sources with a focus on human and planetary health, and why hybrid solutions could be the future for protein innovation.
Food ingredients first reported from FIE 2024 in Frankfurt, Germany.
We're here at the ABM booth with Alicia Humpert, who is the director of product marketing specialty ingredients for Emeyer.
Welcome to you.
So the first question, demand for protein is growing and diversifying globally.
What opportunities do you see in this expanding market?
So I really see that taste and texture for the consumer are key, but how do we really expand our ingredient portfolio and, and really Bring everything to the table that we have within our portfolio.
So we have a vast soya protein portfolio or soy protein portfolio coming from our soya protein facility in Serbia.
We are also using our wheat from from France.
We're using.
Our pea proteins, but we're, we're trying to kind of bring that all together while still improving taste, having realistic, texture, and really looking towards trends that consumers are craving.
So we're bringing that really all together in our dishes.
OK.
And what are the chefs working on today behind you?
OK, so, a perfect example of that, we'll start with kind of our, our, our flavor play over here, which is really natural soybean, with our, our flavors of our chicken and our tarragon, and bringing that on.
In the dish so you can really have that, distinguished flavor and that, culinary aspect of, of cooking.
And that kind of warms up your palate.
And then we, we move on to our kind of, meaty ingredients.
Our, our I ball, which is a soy-based eat ball, and then our our sausage.
And they're both taking ingredients from our, our Serbian facility, and we've added our flavors to it.
And we, we serve it with a potato salad, which is using our chicken broth, which is our vegan chicken broth.
So it's a completely vegan dish, but that really, expands the flavor palate of A plant-based alternative.
OK, and as you know, consumers are looking for more nutritional value from their food, particularly protein intake.
What are the challenges associated in improving the protein density of these plant-based foods?
Soy is a great ingredient.
We, we recently, wrote an article about, about soy and how, impactful soy can.
It has a great amino acid profile.
I think the challenge is that consumers are looking to mix and match.
They want a really broad portfolio in the in the products they choose.
They don't want single source.
They want it from, from, yeah, from multiple sources and that.
And that brings along with it formulation challenges, but we really have a broad portfolio of proteins.
So whether you're looking for legumes or you're looking for soy, pea, or wheat proteins, or, or beans, we have that all in our, our portfolio.
Plus, we have the flavors that, that, you know, make those ingredients just explode.
And perform their best.
So that's where we're really bringing those two things together.
OK.
And in what ways is consumer demand for sustainability evolving and what sorts of industry partnerships are you tapping into to increase your environmental credentials?
OK, so in Emea, the first thing we do is from our Serbian facility we're sourcing really the majority of our soy from 100.
Of the facility.
So that already means that we have a very close relationship with the farmers, but it, it, it's not just, just that, of course we're non-GMO, and we adhere to European guidelines, but we also have third parties who are coming in and evaluating our facilities and our beans, so we're working with.
Europe soya, for example, or ICC to really ensure that we are offering a sustainable product.
That's a final question, how do you envisage protein innovation developing in the years ahead?
So one thing that we've been doing recently and looking at recently is hybrid, and hybrid has a lot of potential.
For us right now, hybrid is a combination between plant protein and traditional meat protein or animal protein, but it has such huge potential with fermentation, with cultured meat that we really see this as an opportunity for us in the industry, and it answers a lot of.
Questions that consumers have and also we can, you know, really expand the portfolio.
That's brilliant.
Thanks for your time today.
OK, thank you.
