Roquette delivers solutions to meet plant-based ingredient demand [Interview]

“That’s why they pay attention to what they eat, for them and their family. This trend was already here before 2020, but massively accelerated with the pandemic. Consumers are adopting increasingly proactive attitudes to their health, wellness, and nutrition, and are more educated on ingredients that boost their health and adjusting their diet. They are looking for health, wellness, and immunity boost.”

“They want to pay attention to their expenses,” explains Eva Esparza, Roquette Head of Marketing Europe, Food Specialties. “When it comes to food, they are looking for the right balance between quality and price. They base their food choices on affordability, quality, and watchfulness.”

“They want to consume in a reasoned way and for their diet; this means eating balanced and varied but also consuming quality products, from sustainable sources,” says Sandrine Bouvier, Roquette Market Manager Europe, Plant Proteins. “Therefore, they are looking for plant-based alternatives. They trust in plant-based, sustainability and safety.”

“All these benefits are supported with more than 18 years of scientific evidence and clinical studies; we have 23 clinical studies and 7 pre-clinical studies,” says Iva François.

“It’s a real challenge for food formulators to achieve a cost-optimized formulation while both keeping the same quality of the finished product and offering an additional benefit, like texture improvement, enhancement of the nutritional profile, or a cleaner process to be more respectful of the planet,” says Esparza. “At Roquette, we support formulators by offering functional ingredients with gelling, emulsifying or bulking properties.”

“We offer specialty starches like CLEARGUM® CO 01, with emulsifying properties that can be used to replace egg in dressing formulations, and PREGEFLO® CR 3510 a pregelatinized starch with outstanding stability that brings a creamy texture to the dressing while keeping it more stable for longer and allowing to use less sunflower oil in the formulae,” says Eva Esparza.

“Our plant-based offer is growing to answer consumers’ expectations in terms of variety,” adds Bouvier. “This explains why Roquette is continuously innovating to develop the functionalities and characteristics necessary for these new applications.”

“For instance, plant-based drinks are a well-installed market, even if still growing,” says Bouvier. “Other segments were more challenging for formulators. However, some solutions are now available, and some should come soon, allowing new launches of delicious plant-based cheeses or seafood.”

“That’s our vision of a comprehensive plant-based approach,” says Bouvier. “Moreover, Roquette takes a holistic approach with our customers. Our customer technical service team works closely with them to understand their needs and all the ways in which the nutritional profile of their formulations can be improved, while maintaining indulgence. Roquette is not only a plant-based ingredients supplier, but also a creative partner to food creators willing to develop the products of tomorrow.”

“At Roquette, we expect this trend to stay,” adds Bouvier. “We are at the beginning of the story. The human population is growing worldwide; in some countries, the average living standard has increased allowing access to some food categories, like meat, which was not possible until now. Upfront resources are limited. Consumers are conscious that plant-based is not anymore an option but a must-have.”