Kerry's Radicle portfolio tackles plant-based taste, texture and label challenges
05 Jun 2020 | Kerry Taste and Nutrition
Kerry's Radicle portfolio of integrated solutions is pegged by the company as "one stop shop" for plant-based development. With a growing number of formulators rushing to the burgeoning market of meat and dairy alternatives, the company partners with food companies to help deliver authentic taste and texture with clean and shorter labels.
This is Benjamin Ferreir on behalf of Food Ingredients First.
I'm joined here today by Karen Emerson, and she is the plant-based project manager at CARI Taste and Nutrition.
Karen is here today to tell us a bit about the company's latest, plant-based research and developments.
Karen, hi.
Hi, Benjamin, how are you?
Yes, to, so to start off, let's, let's ask you, how has, how have the plant-based offerings diversified on the market, and how is this space likely to continue to evolve in the future?
Traditionally, plant-based products were designed for just the vegan and vegetarian consumer in mind, and they were often associated with compromised taste and texture.
Now, the rise of the flexitarian consumer, so flexitarian consumer is anybody that's looking to reduce their meat consumption.
And that could be for any one of a number of reasons, so it could be for animal welfare concerns, sustainability, or perceived health benefits.
But the rise of the flexitarian consumer has led to a significant increase in demand for these products.
And what's unique about the flexitarian consumer is that they have higher taste expectations of this category because they can switch in and out of eating meat versus plant-based proteins whenever they like.
And so the market has had to respond to that.
So what we expect to see is a continuous improvement in terms of taste.
And texture of these products, and that's either through novel protein sources or novel processing technology.
But what we also expect to see is, an emergence of functional plant-based foods.
So this is where companies are looking to explore in terms of fortification and enrichment of their plant-based offerings.
Wonderful.
So KAERI recently, launched Radical and this is a unique portfolio of integrated solutions, which are designed to meet the taste, texture, nutrition, and functionality in plant-based products.
Can you tell us a bit about what distinguishes, this portfolio from other offerings on the market?
Absolutely, so, radical, as you, as you, as you perfectly phrased it there, is a portfolio of integrated solutions, but essentially what it is, is it's a one-stop shop for plant-based development.
Kerry partner with few companies to optimize the taste and texture of their product, with a focus on clean label solutions and shorter ingredient declarations.
So a lot of companies in the market are quite new to this category and they're at the start of their plant-based journey, whereas at Kerry, we have over 40 years of experience of working with plant proteins.
We also have a rich heritage in terms of dairy and meat processing, so, our technologists are able to share this knowledge with their customers to help elevate their MPD efforts, in a, in a market that's getting more competitive and more saturated day by day.
And what would you say are some of the most popular solutions within your radical portfolio at the moment, and what distinguishes each of these?
In terms of our radical portfolio, it's split out into 4 key pillars.
So the first pillar is our sustainable plant proteins.
So our sustainable plant proteins are plant proteins from various different sources, from wheat to soy to pea based, and they can be used in a range of different applications for both the food service channel and the retail channel.
So for example, burgers, nuggets, sausages, farm products, pizza toppings, meal solutions, you name it.
What we also have, included in the radical collection are the Plenty products.
So Kerry has an exciting joint venture with Oja, who are based in the Netherlands, and Oja are trailblazers in terms of plant protein innovation.
So their soy-based plant protein, solution is best in class in terms of texture, so we're very fortunate and excited to share that with our customers.
Moving on from protein, so the second pillar is then taste.
So, in terms of taste, the plant protein category has a number of challenges when it comes to really delivering a distinctive taste profile.
So our authentic savory range of yeast extracts, natural flavors, and stocks are designed to address each of these key challenges.
So, for example, our authentic savory yeast extracts and natural flavors will impart an umami and kind of Moorish flavor profile.
Our masking technology, will then help cover that kind of beanie aftertaste that's often associated with these products.
So the third pillar then it covers off our free from solutions and our fortification solutions, and then the fourth pillar is functionality, so that includes our functional solutions such as binding ingredients.
So, really what the radical solution encapsulates is a total concept approach.
So we're not just focusing on one area of plant-based development, for example, the protein or a seasoning.
We're layering each of the different technologies, so it's the plant protein plus taste, nutrition, and functional solutions, and that's when the real key success stories happen.
Very comprehensive.
Thank you.
You're very welcome.
You sort of touched on this, on, some of the challenges in plant-based.
What would you say are the most standout challenges in plant-based innovation.
I think this market has a number of challenges.
The first one, and like you said, we touched on briefly, is lengthy ingredient declarations.
So, a lot of companies rush to market in response to the growing demand for plant-based products.
And there is a perceived health halo on the market for these products, but we know that consumers are becoming more and more nutritionally astute, and they're starting to become suspicious of long unrecognizable ingredients on back of pack.
So this is where Kerry can, can help our customers to nutritionally optimize their product, and clean up their label, and then still deliver in terms of taste and texture.
The second challenge, again, which we spoke on briefly, is taste.
So, if you think of meat as a substrate, meat has its own distinctive flavor profile, And it, it also has its own mouthfeel, its own succulents, and that can be quite difficult to achieve with a plant-based product.
So this is where Kerry's global supply and global network of, of chefs and flavorists can help advise our customers in terms of how to layer the desired flavor profile from base note to top note.
And thirdly, as I said, there's a number of challenges, but I'll just touch on 3.
Thirdly, salt levels are, are a challenge, especially in, in the meat alternative space.
Because taste is a challenge, a lot of products contain quite high salt levels to enhance the flavor.
So, what we find is this is challenging, this is challenging to reduce the salt levels because there's no one for one replacement for salt on the market.
Salt has a number of different functionalities in these products, from flavor enhancement to preservation to taste, so a number of different approaches is required.
One of these approaches, that Kerry will use is our taste and salt technology, where you can reduce the sodium content, but still give the perception of salt in the flavor profile.
Very interesting.
What would you say is the importance of sustainability as a key driver of the plant-based movement?
There's no doubt that there's a correlation between the rise of the flexitarian and the drive to act more sustainably.
We know that 90% of consumers believe that their health is directly impacted by the biodiversity of the planet.
So consumers are taking social responsibility at an individual level to act more sustainably and to reduce their carbon footprint.
So, and obviously this then informs their purchasing behavior.
So that's why at Carey, we have a focus, and with the radical collection, we have a focus on sustainable solutions.
So, for example, what we touched on previously are sustainable plant proteins, so that will offer the consumer a different protein source if they're trying to act sustainably and be eco-conscious.
And, secondly, we also have clean smoke technology.
So this is a natural flavor that will impart the traditional flavor, smoky flavor, but it has 70% less volatile chemicals, 80% less CO2 emissions, and 90% less water usage than traditional smoking processes.
And then finally, what I mentioned before is our authentic savory range.
So, when we're creating the authentic savory profile, we incorporate a circular model, which means that there's less waste, but it also enhances the aroma capture of the final product.
Thank you very much, Karen.
Welcome.
If you're looking to find out more about radical, visit Kerry.com/radical.
