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The Belgian makers of sport nutrition solutions claim to have created an ingredient to solve all the key issues holding back the plant protein market today.
โLooking at the market of plant based proteins in Europe, itโs still behind the US market,โ asserts the firmโs commercial director Gert Gaukema. โAnd looking at the reasons why that is, there are several things holding it back.
โThe first is taste โ itโs not on a level that can compete with whey. Another issue is the graininess in the mouth, and the third issue is the aftertaste.โ
Providing a blend of fava bean, chick pea and rice, the newly launched blend not promises to solve taste and texture concerns as well as offer a โcomprehensive amino acid profileโ which gets โas close to the nutritional profile of whey as possibleโ.
Gaukema argues these amino acids can also be better absorbed by the body than whey, with the additional benefit of zero allergens.
Whatโs more, major inflation of whey prices in recent years mean this ingredient is currently cheaper to purchase than whey protein, according to Gaukema.
โWhey protein prices have increased very fast and so at the moment this ingredient will be cheaper than whey,โ he asserts.
Testifying for this significant gap in the market, Nick Morgan, founder of the active nutrition industry insights and consultation firm Nutrition Integrated, points out that it is too easy for consumers to be drawn away from the plant-based protein options currently on offer.
โIf youโre a vegan you either opt in or opt out, using the plant proteins on offer or not using protein supplements at all,” he argues, “whereas if youโre flexitarian you can default back to dairy, due to taste, so taste is a huge enabler for flexitarians to not buy into this market.
โEspecially with the macro-economic issues, it takes a lot to acquire and keep hold of customers, so taste has to be really good otherwise customers wonโt repeat purchase.โ
Morgan explains the plant protein sector is currently dominated by pea, followed by rice, with these solutions far from whey’s sensorial profile. As such, consumers are calling out for some differentiation.
He argues: โThis product provides some differentiation as well as taste and nutrition benefits.โ
The new launch could also help cater to growing demand for multiple health benefits, he suggests.
โPeople often want more secondary health benefits and plant proteins are a great place to provide this with benefits such as immune health, brain health, healthy ageing, and added vitamins and minerals.
“If you look at product launches in the last 12 months, plant protein are launching with more of these additional benefits.
“Consumers don’t tend to turn to whey for additional health benefits but the plant protein category lends itself to providing holistic health.”
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