Axiom Foods Focuses on Plant Protein Innovation & Industry Forecasting

11.07.18

Food Scientist Rick Ray to present ingredient forecast for 2019.

Booth 2147 
 
Axiom Foods, a leading maker of plant proteins in the U.S., is focusing on providing the industry with 5-year forecasts that help food formulators understand and consider applications of plant proteins for food and beverage products. Food scientist and seasoned industry flavor and brewing expert, Rick Ray, will be at Axiom’s Booth 2147 to provide formulators with 5-year forecast ideas for their finished products.
 
Formulators will be treated to a mock application for the beer industry that integrates rice syrup, which increases the alcohol levels, on Friday, Nov. 9 from 3 to 5 pm. All attendees will receive a white paper featuring “Ingredient Forecast 2019” for plant proteins, which includes specifics about functionality, concentration and neutrality trends and solutions, along with pesticide warnings related to faux-organic sources of pea and rice proteins.
 
Mr. Ray has spent his career working with food giants including Allied Domecq, General Mills, and Coca-Cola, and since 2015 has been part of the Axiom Foods team. He has been an integral part of monthly flavors brought forth by Baskin Robbins, marrying flavor to coffee before Starbucks realized the market potential and fixing flavor problems that arose with the dawn of microwave cooking technology. Today, he is known for bringing neutrality to musty hemp protein, solubility to gritty rice protein and taking the childhood ick-factor out of pea protein. He will share with guests an interesting application of rice bran as a replacement for expensive hops that is poised to make a massive profitability shift in the beer industry.
 
“My personal love for brewing beer, mixed with the inability to turn off my formulating mind—even while drinking—led to an innovation to replace expensive hops with rice bran and to boost alcohol levels with rice syrup,” said Mr. Ray. “This technology could not only save the largest beer makers in America hundreds of millions of dollars in hops expenditures but provide an added nutritional benefit.” This is just one of the forecast applications Mr. Ray will provide during SupplySide West at the Axiom Foods Booth 2147.