Page 10 - Food&Drink magazine July 2021

✷ RISING STAR
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The Nourished Ingredients team grew from two to 20 in 2020.
“spit out alcohol”, they are producing fats.
The fats can then be targeted for different purposes, so it could be to specifically enhance a plant-based product or perhaps a cell-based one.
ONE FAT, TWO FAT
Nourish Ingredients is working on two types of fats. One is a ‘drop in’, Petrie says, which it is an ingredient that resembles dairy fat and is something producers are relatively familiar with.
Its other type sees Nourish Ingredients pushing the boundaries. Petrie says it’s an exciting area for the team.
“We now have the
opportunity to not make exactly the same type of fat in a fermentation level. We can tune it in whatever direction we want.
“There’s nothing that says cow fat has to be the best solution for a plant protein
– they don’t naturally go together in that sense – so we can push that boundary quite far, and we don’t have to be locked or limited by the biology of those organisms,” Petrie explains.
Leita adds: “Let’s think about chocolate. Cocoa butter is the main fat in chocolate and it’s what melts in your mouth and gives you that great chocolatey taste. If that fat didn’t exist, we
wouldn’t have chocolate, so there are so many more possibilities for different types of fat to be created that could make these experiences for alternative proteins even better, and hopefully, healthier for consumers.”
ADAPT, ADOPT
There is no denying that alternative protein foods and drinks are here to stay. Major manufacturers are transforming traditional products into new lines, which are friendly-for-all, regardless of dietary, environmental or ethical reasons. Whether it is in store or on a menu, consumer demand for alternative options – including plant-based meats and nut-based milks – is becoming more common. It is turning that consumer into a returning customer that is the industry’s next challenge.
“These foods are not only made for people who want to eat them but crave them,” says Petrie. “You want people coming back to buy a product again and again, and that is where we need to get over the taste and experience barrier. That is what our mission is, to supply the fats for those foods.”
Nourish Ingredients is now focused on building demo products to demonstrate the “ability of this type of ingredient to make these plant protein foods taste great,” says Petrie. By the end of the year, Nourished is setting its sights on the next funding round to further accelerate its growth with technology, production and ingredients. ✷
10 | Food&Drink business | July 2021 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au