Food scientists face many challenges. From the undesirable flavors and textures of plant proteins, which can vary from batch to batch, to chalky textures and creating hot functional products with efficacious doses of key ingredients, formulators have their hands full.

“The rapid advancement of plant-based proteins has created two key issues facing developers: mouthfeel and lingering off-flavors,” said Blake Wester, senior applications scientist (beverage) at Flavorchem. Total protein quantity also can be an issue, particularly for drinks and bars. Justin Kozlowski, director of flavor operations, Imbibe, noted, “When functional ingredients are added to beverages at higher levels, they tend to create off-notes. This is especially common with protein beverages that have high amounts of protein in a single serving.” And higher levels of protein in bars can result in a hard, dry product.

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