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Introducing dsm-firmenich to the plant-based innovators of the future

How can manufacturers stand out in a crowded plant-based market? By exceeding expectations in taste, texture, health, and sustainability – with help from dsm-firmenich.

Through dsm-firmenich’s Taste, Texture & Health Business Unit, two iconic companies have become a global-scale partner to the food and beverage industry, bringing huge benefits for leaders in the plant-based space. While taste will always be key to widespread consumer acceptance, nutrition is becoming a key battleground in plant-based formulation. In this article, we’ll focus on how we can help you replicate consumer favorites like creamy gouda, high-protein yogurts, canned tuna, and juicy burgers with plant-based ingredients that hit the mark on taste, texture, health and sustainability.

Nutritious and sustainable proteins of the future

Plant-based formulation often starts with a protein base. Having been traditionally hampered by off-putting “green” notes or a lackluster nutritional profile, we set out to answer the industry’s call for sustainable, nutritious plant proteins that can create meat, fish and dairy alternatives that taste and feel like the ‘real deal’.

Enter Vertis™ – dsm-firmenich’s portfolio of high-quality protein concentrates, isolates and textured vegetable proteins free from all the big 8 allergens including soy, nuts, gluten and dairy. The portfolio includes pea and faba concentrates and textured vegetable proteins (TVPs) for a perfect base alongside the innovative Vertis™ CanolaPRO® for endless versatility, blending beautifully into a wide range of foods and beverages with a neutral taste and great texturizing properties. With a solid base tin taste, texture, health and sustainability, we wanted to see just how far we could take plant-based yogurt, cheese, meat and fish formulation.

Creamy, authentic and quick to market

Plant-based dairy formulation is often more complex than traditional dairy, requiring more ingredients, fortification and processing to compete with dairy on taste, texture and health. That’s why we created two comprehensive toolkits combining our ingredients with technical expertise for plant-based fermented yogurt and cheese alternatives, to help you meet consumer expectations and get new products to market faster than ever before.

^{Pictured: Meat pie | © DSM}

dsm-firmenich's Plant Power toolkit can help you make your specific plant-based yogurt vision a reality – whether it’s a high-protein, low sugar formulation for health-conscious consumers or an indulgently creamy plant-based yogurt-like dessert. The portfolio includes enzymes for creating the optimal base for fermentation. In oat it is the optimal solubility, mouthfeel, and natural sweetness. Additionally, starter cultures for consistent fermentation, enhancing flavor, finetuning freshness and mildness and hydrocolloids to further perfect the mouthfeel, creaminess, shine and stability of plant-based fermented dairy applications.

For plant-based cheese, dsm-firmenich’s dedicated portfolio includes dairy-type flavors and concentrates as well as texture, nutrition and color solutions that enable producers to deliver authentic taste experiences. We have replicated sliced gouda and cheddar, shredded mozzarella, parmesan, and cream cheeses that taste, look and feel like the dairy-based originals.

Convincing meat and fish analogues

Replicating the savory and distinctive umami flavors of meat and fish and masking the unfavorable off-notes associated with plant proteins has been one of the main challenges for plant-based producers.

Take canned tuna as an example, this creamy and meaty profile requires a specific set of flavor solutions that will be completely different to that needed for plant-based shrimp or a vegan burger. Here, dsm-firmenich’s rich and rounded or delicate and sweet flavor solutions can impart a low-salt umami taste and a succulent mouthfeel. Hydrocolloids also support in building a traditional fish or meat-like bite and enhance water binding capacity to improve juiciness.

^{Pictured: Mock up of dsm-firmenich's tuna flakes. | Creator: dsm-firmenich}

All these ingredients layer on top of our protein bases to help you create meat and fish analogues that truly satisfy consumer cravings. Meat and fish have unique arrangements of muscle fibers, connective tissues and fat distribution that were difficult to mimic in plant-based alternatives. Until now. Building on our Vertis^™ portfolio, dsm-firmenich launched the next generation of pea-based TVPs combined with canola-based proteins to give plant-based alternatives a firm, springy and fibrous bite with an enhanced nutritional profile.

The next frontier: enabling improved nutritional profiles

Fortification is not only accepted in the plant-based category, it is actively desired – over 70% of consumers look for vitamins on labels. And with 82% of consumers choosing plant-based alternatives as they consider them to be healthier, quality nutrition is a huge priority. Alongside our Vertis™ portfolio of high-quality plant-proteins, we can help you close the remaining plant-based nutritional gap with other essential nutrients commonly found in dairy, meat and fish but often lacking in plant-based alternatives, such as vitamins B6, B12, and D, and bioavailable calcium, iron and zinc and protein.

But perhaps one of our most exciting innovations in plant-based nutrition is life’s^™OMEGA – a plant-based omega-3 solution derived from algae containing the same EPA and DHA fatty acids as found in traditional fish. This ingredient is approved for use in meat and fish alternatives throughout the EU so producers can create nutritionally complete plant-based meat, fish, and dairy analogues with supported on-pack health claims around eye, heart and brain health.

Whatever your plant-based ambitions, dsm-firmenich is here to help