The perfect mouthful is more than just the perfect taste. Consumers expect – and deserve – their plant-based products to have the perfect texture too. Enhance their overall experience with innovative emulsifier/stabiliser solutions and reliable support for premium, creamier and sediment-free products.
The market for plant-based dairy alternatives is growing rapidly, spouting a global CAGR of 13.3% from 2021-2028 with plant-based drinks projected to be the most popular of the dairy alternative categories. It also brings with it plenty of challenges and learning curves for manufacturers trying to match the performance and sensory properties of their dairy-based cousins.
Also, the way consumers interact with plant-based beverages has evolved. People now desire new options that taste good enough to drink on their own, as well as a selection of ‘milks’ they can choose in place of dairy. They expect high quality, good flavours and lots of choices and this makes the market both exciting but also challenging for manufacturers.
Sedimentation savvy Creating a beverage without using dairy can be a complex process. The wide range of protein sources and raw materials available, and differences in manufacturing processes, mean texture and creaminess can vary dramatically.
Connected to this is the issue of sedimentation. Last year, Palsgaard commissioned extensive consumer research into the plant-based market, which included questions about dairy alternative beverages. The research highlighted certain areas where consumers would like to see improvements. For example, they would like to find products with less sedimentation, a longer shelf-life and enhanced texture and creaminess.
With regards to sedimentation, the survey asked consumers whether they had ever seen visible particles in their plant-based beverages and the results were quite striking. A high proportion (70%) said they had noticed this. It also asked consumers how they thought plant-based beverages could be improved and 34% chose “avoiding sedimentation” as one of their top three choices.
The path to plant-based perfection
Some of the most common problems facing manufacturers of plant-based beverages – fat separation, sedimentation, and gelation – are similar to those faced by dairy manufacturers, a sector emulsifier/stabiliser specialist Palsgaard has been working with for decades.
However, the sheer number of different proteins and raw materials that can be used in plant-based recipes also throws up some unique challenges, and so does the production process. One common problem is unwanted foaming in the mixing process before UHT treatment, which slows down production output.
Palsgaard has developed a series of emulsifier/stabiliser blends designed to help manufacturers overcome these challenges and its technical teams are gladly sharing their know-how. At well-equipped application centres around the world, Palsgaard’s teams of application specialists work alongside manufacturers to determine the optimal mix of raw materials, recipes and processes to achieve a stable product with the right sensory qualities. And they have the equipment needed to work with pasteurised, UHT-treated and sterilised products, making shelf-life studies covering the entire shelf-life of the beverage.
Shorten your plant-based development time
Anticipating consumer needs and solving formulation challenges fast is critical to success in the highly competitive plant-based market. By partnering with Palsgaard, you’ll share in their unrivalled technical knowledge and innovation capabilities with its network of regional application centres to support your product innovation.
To help demonstrate how its emulsifiers and stabilisers can help customers create new products, Palsgaard has developed a series of plant-based recipe concepts which are available for companies to try free of charge.
Visit Palsgaard Plant-Based Experience to explore recipes for fantastically foaming barista milks made from oat, soy or coconut, delicious rice drinks with cocoa powder, coconut-almond drinks, calcium-enriched oat drinks, almond coffee creamers and plant-based whipping creams.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024
