Chr. Hansen has launched Vega Culture Kit specifically developed for fermented plant bases. It allows plant-based innovators to develop customized and differentiated features of their products in taste, texture, health and sustainability. 

The Vega Culture Kit consists of customizable starter cultures, probiotics and bioprotective strains for dairy-free alternatives to yogurt.

As dairy-free alternatives to yogurt, “vegurts,” gather pace worldwide, competition continues to increase among producers striving to offer consumers tasty, healthy and sustainable products.

Chr. Hansen aims to enhance its support of plant-based innovation with the Vega Culture Kit, designed for optimal results across the full scope of plant bases.

Elevating fermented plant-based craftsmanship
Dr. Ross Crittenden, Chr. Hansen’s senior director for commercial development says the company is particularly excited about this launch because it gives Chr. Hansen the opportunity to apply its 145-year legacy of work within the dairy industry to this highly innovative and rapidly growing segment of the market.

“We aim to leverage our deep expertise in food fermentation and history of close collaboration with producers to help the industry elevate the art of fermented plant-based craftsmanship,” he says.  

“Our track record of innovating, collaborating and troubleshooting within the yogurt and fermented milk space has been instrumental in informing our design of the Vega Culture Kit to fit the specific needs of the yogurt category.”

“Because the composition of plant bases is more varied than traditional dairy products, it is particularly important to utilize cultures expertly seleced to meet the performance demands of dairy-free applications.”

Dr. Cittenden also notes how the company designed the Vega Culture Kit to be simple to use while still offering the flexibility to create differentiated products that satisfy the primary consumer drivers that power the increasingly popular plant-based.

The VEGA Culture Kit offers producers the following benefits:

• Enhanced taste and texture:VEGA offers a choice of starter cultures that can differentially drive flavor and texture in plant-based yogurts. This allows producers to optimize for specific product characteristics by selecting the cultures that yield their results.
• Probiotic support: VEGA nu-trish blends of cultures enable consumers to enjoy the benefits of the world’s most-researched probiotics, including Chr. Hansens Bifidobacterium, BB-12 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus, LGG. These cultures have been designed specifically for use in plant bases to ensure convenient delivery of probiotics’ correct serving and stability, all while delivering robust performance and clean flavor.
• Boosted sustainability credentials: VEGA FreshQ culture solution supports a longer shelf life with superior freshness and fewer quality issues through the action of fermentation.

“We hope our customers will appreciate our new VEGA cultures and come to see them as essential for crafting superior vegurts. We look forward to continuing our heritage of close collaboration and expert support of customers,” concludes Crittenden.

Vega cultures are produced using dairy-free ingredients, contain no GMO ingredients and are free from any animal-derived substances. They are suitable for use in vegetarian, vegan, Kosher and Halal products.