Planteneers has developed stabilising systems which contain plant components, designed to enable meat producers and dairies to cut the animal ingredients in their final products by half. This way, the company says, they can profit from the plant-based hype without completely eliminating meat or milk from their formulations.
With the blends in the fiildMeat+ range, the company hopes to bridge the gap between flexitarians and meat eaters who have previously rejected plant-based alternatives for reasons of flavour. “The meat market is enormous, with a worldwide production of 333 million tonnes per year. Reducing the amount of meat in ready meals and meat preparations by half would have a great influence on the market,” said Florian Bark, Product Manager at Planteneers. “Since the potential customers of these half & half products are mostly meat-eaters, this product range has tremendous sales potential.”
The plant-based compounds are suitable for burger patties and nuggets or fresh products like bratwursts and ground meat. Depending on the recipe, protein-rich legumes like lentils or chickpeas are used, along with vegetables with the right flavour profiles. “Wherever possible we avoid ingredients with E-numbers in our stabilisers, likewise flavourings and flavour enhancers,” says Bark. The components for flavour and colour are kept separate, as usual, to give manufacturers increased scope for adjustment. The systems consist of proteins and other plant-based components and the final products can be made with normal machines.
With the compounds from the fiildDairy+ range and normal cow’s milk, dairies can make blends that reduce the amount of milk by 50%, replacing it with plant components, such as a drink consisting of half milk and half oat drink, the company says. “In the development of our fiildDairy+ range we paid special attention to getting the original flavour of the milk products,” said Planteneers Product Manager Katharina Schäfer. The compounds can be a basis for drinks, pudding, fermented milk products like yogurt, and cheese preparations. The final products can also be enriched with proteins, vitamins or minerals to appeal to health-conscious consumers.