New innovation helps beverage manufacturers manage protein costs with on-trend plant protein
New SUPRO® XT 55 Isolated Soy Protein is designed specifically to improve the profitability of ready-to-drink, high-protein beverages by helping beverage manufacturers more effectively manage protein costs. “Soy protein has always been considered an economic alternative to dairy proteins, providing direct cost savings as well as more stable pricing over time. Now it’s even more relevant as plant proteins keep growing in popularity and demand,” said Jean Heggie, strategic marketing lead, DuPont Nutrition & Health.
“In beverages, blending dairy and soy proteins has become a popular formulation strategy for controlling costs, while driving better flavour profiles. However, when working with certain ready-to-drink (RTD) beverage formulas, traditional soy proteins would build too much viscosity or tend to be less stable over time limiting how much dairy protein we could effectively replace. New SUPRO® XT 55 addresses those barriers.” With SUPRO® XT 55, it is now possible to replace up to 50 percent of the dairy protein in beverage formulations without compromising sensory performance or protein nutrition. It provides the perfect balance of viscosity and protein stability, while delivering cost savings and exceptional flavour performance. Like all DuPont™ SUPRO® Proteins, SUPRO® XT 55 is a high-quality, sustainable source of plant-based protein, with all the associated nutrition and health benefits of soy protein.
Expanding RTD Protein Beverage Market
Consumer desire for convenience and high-protein, on-the-go nutrition is driving strong growth in RTD protein beverages across multiple categories. According to Euromonitor, global sales of sports nutrition RTD beverages are expected to exceed $1.2 billion, or grow 11 percent in 2017, driven by mainstream, active consumers. Similarly, meal replacement and complete nutrition beverages are expected to grow 5 and 8 percent, respectively. While many protein beverage manufacturers are experiencing strong top-line brand growth, rising dairy prices threaten their bottom line. According to Blimling & Associates, dairy protein prices have been steadily increasing since mid-2016 and are projected to continue to advance through 2017-2018.
For years, beverage manufacturers have relied on DuPont to generate significant costs savings for their brands, while maintaining or improving flavour performance. “SUPRO® XT 55 addresses the functional limitations of previous soy protein technologies by delivering lower viscosity and improved protein stability,” said Heggie. “With this new innovation, we can replace even greater levels of dairy proteins in these formulas for cost advantage, while delivering great-tasting, nutritious, high-protein beverages to the market.”
With a Protein Digestibility-Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) of 1.0, SUPRO® XT 55 is equivalent in protein quality to dairy protein. Therefore, when replacing dairy, it will have no impact on the protein quality of the finished formula. Like other SUPRO® Proteins, it is supported by years of clinical research, demonstrating its value for heart health, muscle building and maintenance, weight management and healthy growth and development.
“SUPRO® XT 55 expands the options beverage manufacturers have to control protein costs, while maintaining or improving flavour profiles,” explains Heggie. “Our sensory research proves that dairy and soy blends drive better flavour. SUPRO® XT 55 now gives us a wider range of options to create protein systems for our customers that optimise flavour, cost and nutrition.”
