“Growing peas is cool!” How the vegetable protein market is evolving


Within the framework of FoodNet, Uralchem ​​Innovation (part of Uralchem ​​UCC JSC) presented the Pea Protein project: the attention of producers is directed to the creation of plant ingredients for their further processing. In particular, we are talking about pea protein isolate.

 

Dmitry Panfilov, head of the project office of Uralchem ​​Innovations, shared with SuperFood what the prospects for the vegetable protein market in Russia are, and what problems are being seen in this industry today.

 

– Dmitry, who is the main buyer of vegetable protein? And why does some part of the population choose protein from peas, soybeans, rice, wheat?

 

– Currently, vegans, vegetarians and flexitarians are the main consumers of plant foods (flexitarians are those who do not give up animal meat, fish, but sometimes eat only plant foods).

As we can see from megatrends, protein intake is extremely important for humans. And if we compare the amount of protein we consume with the amount of fats and carbohydrates in the diet, then there is a lag: it is worth at least a few days to monitor how we eat, and this will become obvious.

The use of vegetable protein in these conditions is a clear plus: it will help to make up for the lack of a nutrient.

There can be many reasons for choosing plant alternatives: for example, today more and more people consider it important to take care of the environment (and the production of plant protein is more environmentally friendly); someone wants to lose weight; someone is trying different diets; some just like the taste of plant-based foods and so on.

And there are some limiting factors, and they, I think, are related to the unknown and inaccessibility: many people simply do not know that there are foods based on plant protein. They do not understand what it is, what it is made of. And the fact that these products can only be found in large chains, and even quite expensive, is another constraining factor in demand. But soon, I think this will change.

 

– In your opinion, why are there so few companies in Russia producing vegetable protein?

 

– Now the market is developing practically from scratch. This hype (to plant alternatives) only lasts a few years.

In Russia, the agro-industry is very developed, we have soybeans, peas, and wheat, but at the same time there are almost no enterprises for deep processing (especially soybeans and peas). We produce concentrates, for example, based on peas (in which the protein content is less than 80%), and pea processed products go to the feed segment (that is, to animal feed). But the isolates are now imported.

That is, global companies, both European and Chinese, import pea protein here.

For the domestic production of protein isolates, where its content is more than 80% (which our company focuses on in the first place), there are some constraining factors of development. First, there is no market as such. Secondly, this requires large capital investments: for example, a plant for deep processing of peas, which requires, say, 70 thousand tons of raw materials, requires investments of about 100 million dollars.

This, of course, is also a challenge for most companies: only large industrial players can afford this.

And the third factor is food technologies: this needs to be learned, it needs to be developed.

 

– By the way, I heard from people who have tried pea protein that they would prefer regular protein, because it has more protein and its taste is brighter. Is it possible to create a plant-based protein in which everything will be perfect?

 

– Yes, indeed, plant proteins have a bean smell and taste. This is dealt with in different ways. There are physical, chemical and enzymatic methods for modifying proteins that help improve their properties. Moreover, this remains within the framework of “non-chymosis” – by the way, that some consider all this to be terrible chemistry. Technologies are developing, and all this is a matter of time (for example, the Beyond Meat company – they add vegetable protein to their cutlets – they love these cutlets, they like them, and this is an indicator that it is possible to achieve good taste).

As for nutrients, the nutritional value of vegetable protein is lower than that of meat protein: animal protein has a complete amino acid composition, and also contains calcium, zinc, vitamin D, potassium and iron.

At the moment, there are no technologies in production that could bring vegetable protein so close in composition to meat. But this is a matter of the future.

 

– Are there any clear advantages in the production of vegetable protein (for example, you said that it is more environmentally friendly)?

 

– Yes, there are advantages. To obtain protein from peas and other plants, much less water and land resources are spent. And importantly, there is a much smaller carbon footprint than animal protein.

Another fact is that peas themselves, as a culture, contribute to the restoration of the soil. Growing peas is cool! Because it has the ability to store nitrogen and nutrients that make the soil more fertile.

By the way, peas have the richest amino acid profile among crops when compared to rice, wheat, soybeans (which can often contain GMOs, which peas do not).

Peas, in comparison with meat, do not contain growth hormones. It is also hypoallergenic, which is very important. Easy to digest. The production cost is low, that is, it is cheap.

In general, peas are ahead of other crops and are in much higher demand.

 

– Dmitry, please tell us: how is the vegetable protein market developing in Russia now compared to foreign countries?

 

– In the world now it is a high-margin, actively growing market. In developed countries, the prices for vegetable protein are so high that it is advisable to transport it anywhere in the world.

Why does pea isolate come to Russia from other countries – because people are still willing to pay for it. The margin allows you to do this.

In our country, the trend is lagging behind, but every year, as we see, there are more and more companies that produce ice cream, milk, bars and so on on a vegetable basis – not only from peas.

The prospects for this industry are great. Pea prices in Russia are among the lowest in the world, because we are the second largest exporter of this crop after Canada. We supply almost 50% of the cultivated peas to other countries! In our country, it is possible to grow it in much larger quantities, because Russia has a huge potential for the use of effective agricultural technologies and, as a result, an increase in the yield of peas.

 

– Based on the prospects, are investments in this industry profitable?

 

– Investing is profitable, 100 percent. Because she’s young enough. I’m talking about ingredients for the ready-made food market. And the focus of our company is on the ingredients – in particular, on the creation of pea isolate.

Why it is profitable: for example, now in Europe and the USA the prices for pea isolate are about 5-6 dollars per kilogram. The marginality is insanely high, in fact.

Everyone sees this niche, but few can afford it.

 

– Does the state provide support to the vegetable protein industry? Market, companies?

 

– We are grateful to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for supporting our project. In addition, Uralchem ​​is one of the leaders in the FoodNet market of the National Technology Initiative, and this is a link between business and government. We are interested in developing the market for plant-based products using Russian technologies.

As part of the FoodNet working group, colleagues from the Ministry of Industry and Trade and NTI help package such projects and work with the business to develop support measures that can be offered to relevant enterprises in the form of assistance and subsidies.

 

 

The material was prepared by Alexandra Goryunova