Novozymes is helping producers develop oat drinks

Half a billion people worldwide are either vegan or vegetarian, 26 per cent of millennials have already embraced this lifestyle and 73 per cent among them are willing to pay more for sustainable food and drinks. The combination of these trends is giving the sale of oat drinks a boost, with an expected growth of 30 per cent a year.

“A new market is opening up and booming. To help dairies and beverage producers expand their portfolio and create new types of oat drinks, we have developed a toolbox that can help them expand their business into this new territory,” said Alessandro Palumbo, market development manager at Novozymes, in a press release.

Oat drinks is the fastest growing category in the plant based beverage segment. This is mainly due to the fact that oat drinks have one of the best nutritional profiles among dairy alternatives. Oat drinks are also known for its benefits when it comes to sustainability.

In spite of huge interest and a growing market, a study finds only two in 10 consumers think that plant protein is extremely good tasting.

The new enzymatic toolbox is developed by Novozymes and is the first of its kind. It provides insights into how to use and combine enzymes, raw material and production parameters to adjust sweetness, mouthfeel and nutritional profile in oat drinks. It also provides insights for producers into how to optimize the production process and save costs.

“The toolbox gives dairy and beverage producers the opportunity to develop the oat drinks consumers want. By teaming up with Novozymes, they will be able to select the flavour and nutritional profile of their drink, starting from a prototype and quickly scale it up using the perfect combination of enzymes, raw materials and equipment,” said Alessandro Palumbo.

By working with Novozymes, producers will also have access to a team of experts, who can provide technical support from raw material to finished product. The toolbox can be accessed here.