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    Food Ingredients

Where Protein Begins: Transforming plant-based ingredients

A look at today's eating habits shows that consumers are gradually moving towards a more plant-based nutrition, including alternative food products to traditional, animal-based meat, milk and cheese. Consumers at the same time care about what is behind a food brand. That includes aspects like local, sustainable and ethical sourcing as well as a ‘clean label’.

The industry is facing a significant challenge in sourcing of protein ingredients that not only meet the functional requirements of applications like plant-based milk but are also locally grown and offer improved sustainability. What is more, traits such as a beany off-taste or unappealing color become bottlenecks for success.

With decades of experience in plant breeding, we at KWS leverage our R&D resources to deliver towards these trends and bottlenecks, by focusing on protein crops with a new approach. It has inspired us to leverage the genetics of proteins in plants to meet functional properties in food products.

  • The mission

    Our goal is to utilize state of the art plant breeding to deliver improved functional ingredients from traditional crops in sustainable supply chains

    Karen Ilsemann, Principal Research Lead Food Ingredients Development
    KWS-Researcher-Emlpoyee-Ilsemann-Karen.jpg

Let’s start where protein begins, with plant breeding at the heart of it.

Carefully selecting and cultivating specific plant varieties allows us to enhance the natural qualities of crops, creating ingredients that meet the evolving needs of both consumers and food manufacturers. After all, protein properties in foods are the result of plant genetics, environment as well as extraction and processing techniques. Our PROTEOMEX® Platform, combining our traditional expertise in breeding and plant genomics with new established competences in food analytics forms the technical basis for our approach.

Our Plants-Your Food: Ingredients designed together

Collaboration is at the heart of our approach. We work closely with food producers to understand their specific needs and challenges. By bringing our expertise in plant breeding together with the requirements and expertise of a partner in the food industry, we can create bespoke ingredients tailored to specific product lines, meeting the desired taste, texture, and functionality requirements.

1

Better Emulsification

Selected protein profiles to give improved binding with lipids and water to enhance the eating qualities for meat substitutes, and melting cheese alternatives when cooking. Creating more stable foams and setting in dairy substitutes.

2

Clean Label

Varieties with reduced off flavour compounds, requiring fewer flavor enhancers. Selected functional protein qualities requiring less stabilizers and binders on the food label. Regionally adapted protein crop varieties to facilitate local sourcing.

3

Improved Texture

Protein profiles optimized for gelation in semi-soft and hard dairy alternatives or to improve 'bite' and 'chew' in meat analog for a better eating experience and attractive visual reaction to heat during cooking plant based products.

Our plants provide the foundation, your food brings it to life

By partnering with us, you’re working at the forefront of ingredient innovation. Together, we can create the next generation of plant-based foods—where the right plant genetics meet the perfect food application. It is all about finding the perfect match starting with the raw material throughout the final product.

To learn more about our ingredient partnerships, please contact:

Nigel Moore
Nigel Moore
Head of Food Ingredients
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Portrait photo of Alexandra Molitor Lead of Strategic Planning
Alexandra Molitor
Commercial Director Food Ingredients
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