Market Updates, Products & Ingredients

Beneo Announces New Pulse Processing Plant

The new production site will strengthen the company’s plant-based protein portfolio.

Functional ingredients manufacturer Beneo recently announced a €50 million investment in a new pulse processing site in Offstein, Germany. The site will produce protein-rich pulse ingredients for food and animal feed. It will initially focus on a protein concentrate, starch-rich flour, and hulls from Faba bean, with the option to process other pulses in the future.
 
The new production stie will strengthen the company’s plant-based protein portfolio, and enables Beneo to meet growing demand for plant-based food and feed ingredients.
 
“The recent investment by Beneo into a new pulse production site is only the starting point. We strongly believe in plant-based ingredients and therefore see the new plant as an important first step in enlarging our protein offering moving forwards,” Christoph Boettger, member of Beneo’s executive board, said. “This will enable us to produce a wider variety of sustainable plant-based protein ingredients over the coming years.”
 
Citing market research conducted by Mintel, Beneo said that by 2027, it is projected that 75% of all protein demand will be for plant-based proteins, while products using these proteins are expected to reach 11% CAGR between 2020-2027. The company also reports that pulses are increasingly popular, with pea and Faba bean considered the rising star ingredients of new product launches worldwide, having achieved a CAGR of 20% between 2016-2021.
 
Pulses help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the farm level, Beneo reports. Faba beans, for example, provide nitrogen for themselves and subsequent plants, eliminating the need for fertilization.
 
The Faba beans will be locally sourced from farmers that are certified by the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative. All crops, when processed, will be fully used for functional ingredients. The production process used has also been chosen for its low energy consumption in comparison to alternative processes, helping to contribute to Beneo’s targets of carbon neutrality and sustainability.
 
Ground has already been broken on the plant, which is slated for completion in 2024, and has thus far created 25 jobs at the Offstein site. Beneo will also process these planned raw ingredients in intermediate production facilities until the new plant is fully operational, and Beneo’s Faba bean ingredients will be available form the start of June.
 
The protein concentrate and starch-rich flour from this facility will be used for protein enrichment and texture improvement in meat and dairy alternatives, as well as gluten-free bakery and cereals. Faba bean hulls and starch-rich flour will be used in feed as a vegetal protein or fiber source for sustainable pet food, aquafeed, and livestock nutrition.

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