New magazine ‘Future Protein NL’ now online

In Europe, the protein shift is in full swing as we rapidly approach the transition tipping point. Companies and investors are jumping on the bandwagon as they notice that demand for plant-based variations for meat, dairy and fish is growing exponentially. Accelerating this transition requires joint efforts and new roles for all parties involved.

An inventory by Foodvalley NL and Oost NL shows that at least 250 companies in the Netherlands are committed to the protein transition, the number has doubled since 2010. The collaborative initiatives represent a diverse network of public and private sector organizations and NGOs.

Connecting generations is key

Connecting generations is critical to moving the protein shift past its tipping point. How? Evi Vet, the Dutch UN Youth Representative on Biodiversity and Food ad our Innovation Lead Protein Shift, Jeroen Willemsen share their vision in this interview for the magazine ‘Future Protein NL’ (the interview start from page 6).

“Connecting generations has been a guiding example of how we, in The Netherlands, are working on the protein shift. Dutch people are not deterred by the usual ways of looking at innovation or business; entrepreneurship is in our genes. I believe in the power of technology and new products, but even more in the power of people: they are representatives of different generations who shape the future of protein together. For young people adopting new routines is easier. Because they are not burdened by a certain upbringing, in my case with an abundance of meat and dairy”, Jeroen Willemsen explains.

About the magazine ‘Future Protein NL’

The magazine ‘Future Protein NL’ aims to inspire and inform you about what is going on in the Netherlands in the field of alternative proteins. In order to meet with environmental and societal needs, alternative protein sources need to be developed next to animal-based meat, dairy, fish, and eggs. The Netherlands is a global frontrunner in the alternative protein sector, an expert in the field of agri-food, sustainability and knowledge sharing. The online magazine outlines the Dutch ecosystem of alternative proteins, focusing on trade and international ambitions, innovations, and foreign direct investments.

The magazine features over forty exclusive interviews with leading entrepreneurs and organizations, including Beyond Meat, Jaap Korteweg, Founder The Vegetarian Butcher and Those Vegan Cowboys, Meatable, Protix, The Protein Brewery, the LIVEKINDLY Collective, and many more. The Netherlands has a highly developed and competitive agri-food sector with over 150 years of experience in the production of proteins. Over 250 companies in the Netherlands are working on the protein shift; delivering solutions with global impact.

Guido Landheer, Director of European, International and Agro-Economic Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, “The Netherlands is one of the world’s go-to alternative protein hubs. We are in a transition towards a better balance between animal-based and plant-based proteins. Innovations are born here and translated into practical products. We have a strong focus on collaboration and partnerships.”

“We are extremely pleased that we were able to contribute to the magazine together with a lot of Foodvalley members and hope that this magazine will play its part in the protein transition. ‘Future Protein NL’ is a great invitation for anyone who wants to make a difference in solving the global protein challenge. We shape the future of food together!”, concludes Jeroen Willemsen.

To find out what the attitude and knowledge of consumers is around home-grown plant proteins, DVJ Insights conducted a consumer survey on behalf of the Protein Farmers of the Netherlands (an initiative of Foodvalley NL). The consumer survey provides, among other things, insights for the Green Deal Protein-rich Crops that stimulates the cultivation, processing, and consumption of regionally grown proteins. Read the research here.

Local foods have become more important

The results from the study, conducted among 500 Dutch consumers, are promising. For example, in the past year local foods have become more important to 4 out of 10 Dutch respondents. This is mainly due to the climate agreement and the COVID-19 crisis. But availability and media attention play a role in this as well.

Half of the consumers are therefore more motivated to buy plant-based products. The main motivation is health, while price is the main barrier to make a purchase. Supporting local farmers and sustainability and climate are of most added value to consumers.

Recommendations from the study

The research offers great opportunities for the promotion of protein-rich products from Dutch soil. Consumers currently associate local products mainly with meat and dairy. A lot of work is needed to give plant protein-rich products the positive association and value as well. For example, how to enhance biodiversity and soil fertility. The research provides concrete guidelines for this. Read more about these recommendations here.

Who are the Protein Farmers of the Netherlands?

“We bring plant proteins from the Netherlands to life. For soil, biodiversity, farmer, and citizen”, is the slogan of the Protein Farmers of the Netherlands. An initiative of Ekoboerderij De Lingehof, Proeflab Wageningen, Taskforce! Korte Keten and Foodvalley NL. Thirty Dutch protein farmers are committed to the (re)appreciation of Dutch protein farmers and their locally grown products. Because local, vegetable proteins are profitable on all fronts: health, sustainability, and a circular economy.

The Protein Farmers of the Netherlands do this by sharing knowledge about local plant protein products, by seeking cooperation between growers, processors, developers, and makers of end products. Also, by researching the market and consumers with this consumer study.

The Netherlands is referred to as a Global Plant-based protein Powerhouse. The Protein Cluster created a non-exhausting overview of over 50 Dutch organisations, initiatives, programmes and clusters shaping the future of protein, including their primary focus areas. The overview was presented during the March 11th community meeting and can be found here.

Is there an initiative missing? Send your suggestion to info@theproteincluster.com. A database of over 200 Dutch post-harvest companies active in the Protein Shift sector will be published soon.

Helping entrepreneurs by stimulating inter-provincial cooperation and thereby increasing the national and international impact of initiatives within the protein transition. It is the goal of a joint initiative of the provinces of Gelderland, Overijssel, Zeeland, Noord-Brabant and Flevoland – within The Protein Cluster. “This will enable entrepreneurs to fulfill their ambitions for sustainable protein, better and faster,” says Jeroen Willemsen, Innovation Manager at Foodvalley NL. The collaboration starts, officially, on 13 October 2020, during the Foodvalley Summits.

Entrepreneurs, who have committed to the protein shift, have been receiving support from various provinces and Regional Development Agencies (ROMs) for a number of years. This cooperation is intensifying, now that, after Gelderland, Overijssel, Foodvalley NL and Oost NL initiated The Protein Cluster 3 years ago, the provinces Zeeland, Noord-Brabant and Flevoland have also joined this business network. Currently, The Protein Clusters counts 65 members. With this extended cooperation, there will be even more companies that benefit from support in their plant-protein businesses.

Cooperation across provincial borders

“We bring together entrepreneurs from different provinces with complementary ambitions, networks, products and facilities. Growers, processors and end users, for example, alongside producers and food designers,” Willemsen illustrates. “The protein transition does not stop at the border of a province or a country. This cooperation is, therefore, a valuable new step in the development of the protein transition ecosystem as imagined by Foodvalley NL and its partners.”

Faster growth

Companies can grow faster with an multi-province approach. Mark Laponder of Evolution Meats knows this better than anyone. The entrepreneur develops and produces 100% vegetable products with the taste and bite of meat. “As an entrepreneur I look beyond the borders of Gelderland, my own province. Some of our raw materials, for example, come from Zeeland, and the storage and distribution of our products is taken care of from our production site in Limburg. When our partners receive support from their own province, we benefit too.”

Promotion abroad

Protein transition across provincial borders also helps promote Dutch vegetable protein products, technologies and services further afield. Laponder: “The Protein Cluster is also an enabler: member companies join forces in creating a shared global platform. It’s great that we can present ourselves together at global events such as Floriade 2022 in Almere, and major food fairs in Germany and France.

Want to know more?

Want to know more about Protein Transition without borders? Contact Jeroen Willemsen, Innovation Manager Protein Shift at Foodvalley NL.

The market for sustainable proteins is growing rapidly, in both the Netherlands and Singapore, creating significant collaboration opportunities for entrepreneurs. A recent innovation scan, by Foodvalley NL and Enterprise Singapore (the key government agency developing Singapore as a startup hub) absolutely confirms this. The scan-report was presented during the Foodvalley Summit Protein Shift, on October 13, 2020.

“The Netherlands and Singapore are international leaders in R&D and knowledge-intensive systems, and there are many innovative players in the sustainable proteins market,” says Miranda van Dijck, Foodvalley Innovation Analyst closely involved in the innovation scan. “This makes them interesting dialogue partners.”

Collaboration

According to Van Dijck, there are plenty of opportunities for cooperation between the two countries. “Think of the development of new production processes and technologies, but also co-branding and co-manufacturing,” she illustrates.

Some parties in the Netherlands and Singapore are already working together. Singapore start-up Shiok Meats, which cultures shrimp meat, recently received a total of US$12.6 million through the Dutch investment fund Aqua-Spark and SEEDS Capital, Enterprise Singapore’s investment arm.

Deeper understanding

Through this innovation scan, Foodvalley NL and Enterprise Singapore aim to develop a deeper mutual understanding of each other’s ecosystems, identify market opportunities, and catalyze further exchanges and innovation partnerships between Dutch and Singapore institutions and businesses.

Growth market

In both Singapore and the Netherlands, the market for sustainable proteins is growing, mainly driven by sustainability and health concerns. “Developments are particularly rapid in the meat substitutes category,” says Van Dijck. Vegetable snacks and ready meals are also on the rise in both countries, but especially in Singapore.

Alternative protein sources

The report highlights several companies extracting proteins from alternative sources such as algae, insects and residual flows (e.g. okara, from soy and tofu production), as well as applications based on cell cultures (cultured meat) and fermentation technologies.

Ecosystem

The report also provides an overview of the key players in the ecosystem – the incubators, accelerators and investors, who are supporting the growth of innovative startups in the alternative protein space. In addition, it lists shared facilities – from pilot to industrial scale – for both countries. “This will help companies, who want to scale-up production of alternative protein ingredients and end-products, to identify relevant infrastructure support without the need for heavy setup costs during the initial phases,” says Van Dijck.

Free download

Members of Foodvalley will receive a link to a free download of the report.

Foodvalley membership

Foodvalley member companies have access to the best knowledge, knowledge suppliers, partners and a large (inter)national business network to accelerate innovation and growth. More information about the Foodvalley Membership.

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Innovation scan of the Netherlands and New Zealand: market for sustainable protein still growing

Three interesting concepts for plant-based products, new millennial consumer insights and lots of inspiration are the outcomes of a two-month collaboration project between Swiss-based M-Industry and a multidisciplinary team of Wageningen Masters students. M-Industry has integrated the input into their strategic analysis and is establishing a follow-up project.

M-Industry, part of the Migros Group – Switzerland’s largest food retailer – produces over 20,000 high-quality food and non-food products, making it one of the largest own-brand producers in the world. “We are currently expanding our plant-based portfolio and have joined Foodvalley to accelerate our innovation efforts”, says Innovation Program Manager Stefania Bellaio.

Academic Consultancy Training

It was via the Foodvalley Update newsletter that Bellaio and her colleagues learnt about the possibility of a collaboration with students from Wageningen University. “Most Masters students in Wageningen follow an Academic Consultancy Training, in which they work together in a project with students from different backgrounds and nationalities,” she explains. “Industry partners can submit a project, and students who are interested can show their interest. The university then puts together a team.”

Foodvalley NL facilitated the contact with Migros and Wageningen University, and helped increase the company’s brand awareness in and around Wageningen.

Next generation of plant-based products

‘Develop a next generation of plant-based products, come up with innovative concepts, suitable ingredients and processing technologies, and provide an outline for a communication and marketing strategy’ was the company’s request to the 7-person student team. The students, with skills covering nutrition and health, food technology, and communication & innovation, had two months to do their research, compile a report and present their findings.

Innovative approach

They impressed Bellaio and her colleagues with their end findings and their academic knowledge and professionalism. “The students presented three very interesting product concepts, substantiated by solid scientific insights and statistical analyses, and gave us a better understanding of the motivation and behavior of the millennial and “Z” generation –important target groups for us”, she illustrates. “They were also very innovative in how they collected consumer information. For example, they organized a survey, via Facebook, and announced it via different social media. They also held interviews with local restaurants to gain a better understanding of the specific market and consumers preferences when it comes to plant-based ingredients.”

M-Industry has integrated the students’ input into their strategic business analysis. “Their work has also inspired us to initiate new initiatives targeted at their generation Z,” says Bellaio.

Catalyst

For the Innovation Program Manager, the Foodvalley membership has already proven its value. “Foodvalley has been the catalyst for this student project as well as connecting us with interesting start-ups, within and beyond the field of plant-based proteins”, she says.

The new academic year will see, for certain, another ACT project provided by M-Industry. “We are looking forward to yet another new perspective.” Bellaio advises other Foodvalley members to follow their example. “Get involved, give the students the freedom to come up with their ideas and discover what will happen.”

As The Protein Cluster, we took the initiative to bring together insights of the plant protein market and to share our own view on the potential of this market. We have marked some opportunities in plant-based food products and also highlighted the split in ingredients that this market requires. We see a plant protein ingredient gap coming up, which can be a challenge to this tremendously growing market. However, within our cluster (and not limited to) we see many ingredient companies jumping into this huge potential.

Check out the full infographic with insights by downloading it here.

On Wednesday April 22 The Protein Cluster & Protein Directory hosted a webinar about The latest plant protein ingredients. Now you can watch it online!

A combination of sharing insights and making new business connections on the topic “the latest plant protein ingredients”. In the plenary start and during various ingredient pitches you are updated on the latest protein ingredients. Below you can find the program.

Program

Welcome by Protein Directory & The Protein Cluster
Overview of developments in the plant protein market by Jeroen Willemsen, The Protein Cluster

Ingredient pitches (5 min each)
1. Fava beans and application, by Multiflour and MFH pulses
2. Algae, by Spira
3. Moringa, by AnuLife
4. Algae ingredients by Phycom
5. Side stream valorization into protein ingredients, by Cosun
6. Fungi-based vegan protein by Mycorena
7. Innovative quinoa ingredients by GreenFood50

From onion peeling to cabbage leaves and water lentils: in their brand new multifunctional plant in Raalte (The Netherlands), Rubisco Foods, Foodvalley Member, are processing various types of vegetable residual streams into ‘green’ protein and other high-quality ingredients. The factory was officially opened on 5 March 2020 by Tijs de Bree, a representative of the Province of Overijssel.

High quality, sustainable protein concentrates

Rubisco Foods produces high-quality food-grade ingredients using products from local growers and residual flows from the vegetable processing industry: vegetable, clean label and organic (Skal) certified. “Imagine protein concentrate from water lentils, suitable for meat substitutes and protein shakes, with a protein percentage of up to 75% and an amino acid composition comparable to that of whey,” illustrates Hans Derksen, co-founder and director of Rubisco. Another example is protein concentrate from onions, which contain umami components that can be used as flavour enhancers in, for example, salt-reduced products.