With the ambition to become the greenest, most innovative, and successful sugar beet processor globally, Cosun Beet Company endeavours to set new standards in sustainability and efficiency. Employing around 850 dedicated professionals, the company describes itself as one of Europe’s most efficient sugar producers. In addition to producing sugar and sugar specialities, Cosun Beet Company processes all parts of the sugar beet into ingredients for the food, energy, biobased and related industries.
Désirée Potters is the commercial development lead for the company’s product, Fidesse®, an upcycled food ingredient made solely from sugar beet pulp. She has a background in food technology and over 25 years of experience in the food ingredient industry. She explores how the innovative use of side-stream ingredients can address key challenges in plant-based product development.
What motivated the Cosun Beet Company to develop ingredients for meat alternatives from the side stream of sugar production?
Firstly, we look at the market trends and what challenges producers encounter. Secondly, our aim is to valorize every part of the beet in order to be as circular and sustainable as possible. Therefore, our Research, Development and Innovation department deep-dived into the potential of sugar beet pulp, as this is a huge side stream of sugar production. They discovered that sugar beet pulp does have unique properties; it has a very strong cell structure that can hold moisture during processing, whereas at the same time, the pulp absorbs the colour and taste of the matrix. The moisture is only released under high shear, i.e. biting.
Can you elaborate on the specific challenges you face in improving the texture of meat alternatives and how your ingredient solutions address these challenges?
Customers face challenges with improving the texture because most of the ingredients that provide texture are pretty dry. As Fidesse® is a wet (frozen) ingredient with the capability of retaining moisture during processing, the producer of meat alternatives has texture and moisture in one ingredient.
Can you explain what makes Fidesse® stand out compared to other ingredient solutions and how it specifically benefits the development of meat alternatives?
Fidesse® can retain water and give texture at the same time, which sounds like a contradiction, and exactly that is the uniqueness of Fidesse®. These properties are solid during the production of meat and fish alternatives. Once the end consumer bites into the product, the moisture is released, giving the juicy sensation that meat has. Additionally, it’s neutral in colour and taste, so for product developers it is easy to use their own spice blends.
Could you share some examples of successful collaborations with plant-based food manufacturers or brands where your ingredients have played a pivotal role?
Our launching customer was our sister company, Aviko, with falafel burgers, including the Fidesse® ingredient. Although falafel is already vegan in itself, for the western European market it is often too dry. With Fidesse®, the juiciness has been improved. While we are proud of collaborations with various plant-based manufacturers, we are unable to share specific details due to confidentiality agreements.
With the plant-based market evolving rapidly, what trends are you observing in the [ingredients] industry?
What we see is that in some European countries, plant-based is not growing as fast as expected. For some retailers, that means they will not meet their targets in time in terms of carbon footprint. Therefore, there is a tendency to hybrid products. In order to eat less meat and more plant-based, we think this is a good development, as the amount of people that don’t want to eat fully vegetarian is still the majority. In this way, also they contribute to the transition.
Are there any upcoming events, trade shows, or conferences where industry professionals can meet and engage with Cosun Beet Company?
We will have a booth under the Cosun umbrella at the FiE in Frankfurt. In September, we will exhibit at the Intrafood in Kortrijk, Belgium. We will also attend some b2b conferences as visitors, such as ProVeg‘s New Food Conference in Berlin.
