ProVeg International recently hosted a webinar with a panel of industry experts discussing the key methods and challenges involved in making classic products plant-based. The panel consisted of Carole Bingley, Technical Specialist at Reading Scientific Services (RSSL); Jochen Pfeifer, Research Fellow at Mondelez International; and Corjan van den Berg, CEO at FUMI Ingredients.
Some of the key topics discussed included:
- How multifunctional ingredients can help to optimise taste and texture while avoiding long ingredient lists
- The role of equipment and finding the right supplier
- The key challenges involved in veganising products and how to overcome them
If you’d like to access the full webinar recording and summary, click here. In the meantime, read on to find out some of the key tips and tricks from the webinar.
Choosing the right ingredients
So, how can your company choose the right plant-based ingredients?
Panellist Carole suggested that multi-functionality is the key metric by which to judge ingredients. By choosing an ingredient that serves multiple purposes in the product – such as emulsification and gelling – you can keep the ingredients list as small as possible, which is attractive to consumers and saves your company both time and money.
However, when choosing these multi-functional ingredients, you can’t expect them to behave in the exact same way as their traditional, animal-based counterparts.
Corjan highlighted how many companies looking to veganise products wish to replace the egg with another ingredient and expect it to behave in an identical manner. He emphasised the importance of having an open mind when it comes to implementing new ingredients in a recipe. “You need to make modifications to the process to make the replacers work properly. None of them is [as immediately effective] as egg white, so you need to take this into consideration as well.”
At the same time, the ingredients which do tick all of these boxes can run into the problem of not being “clean” enough for back-of-pack labels, using ingredients which are full of additives and are over-processed. Keeping this in mind – along with reducing allergen-related risks – can make the R&D process very complex.
If you are interested in learning more about the challenges involved in veganising products and how to overcome them, click here to watch the full webinar. For more information on how to promote the sales of plant-based products which boost your company’s bottom line, click here to access ProVeg International’s New Food Hub now!
