Israel-based protein specialist NextFerm is launching its long-awaited range of vegan alternative protein products, on display now at Anuga FoodTec in Cologne, Germany. The company claims to have created formulations that avoid common digestion problems associated with plant-based protein supplements and expects to create a market shift away from animal products that do not require consumer sacrifice on taste. 

Speaking to FoodIngredientsFirst from the trade show floor, Elzaphan Hotam, CEO of NextFerm Technologies USA, explains how the company is targeting the growing demand for ethically sourced dietary supplements. 

“We produce food ingredients and dietary supplements based on yeast fermentation. This process is very advantageous on many levels: It is highly sustainable, the quality of the product comes out very well, and it is cost-effective.” 

“We are producing a plant-based protein that no other vegan protein supplements in existence can deliver: it has a neutral taste and a perfect nutritional profile. The taste means that you can add it to dairy products like milk and cheese, and on the nutrition side, we have solved the problems of low digestibility in plant proteins and the deficiency in amino acids.” 

NextFerm plant-based cream cheese.A lack of needed amino acids in common plant-based proteins means that the body absorbs the supplements less effectively than with traditional products like whey. This often produces nasty digestion problems and makes supplementation less effective. 

NextFerm solution 
Hotam says the company has solved these issues and created a range of example products, from cream cheese to whey-like powders, which can cater to the sports nutrition market. 

“Our protein has all the amino acids that resemble that of whey or other animal-based products. It is also non-GMO and completely vegan. Another huge advantage is that it is readily applicable, there is no regulatory barrier as a novel food ingredient.” 

“We are a B2B company. Our business is to sell plant protein for whatever purpose or application. Definitely, sports nutrition is a market that you could call our early adopters, but we see a huge interest in dairy. Spreadable cheese, regular cheese and yogurts will be a huge area for us in the near future.” 

Innova Market Insights listed Plant-based: The Canvas for Innovation as a top trend for 2022, noting that consumers consider plant-based alternatives to be healthier and better for the planet. The desire for diet variation is also further boosting interest in plant-based beyond the traditional vegan and vegetarian sectors, the market researcher notes, which already led to a 59% increase in launches of new plant-based products last year.

Finding NextFerm’s products 
NextFerm has been developing its protein products for well over a year and, in the last couple of weeks, has officially launched commercially throughout the world. 

“We are primarily available in the US and EU, but we expect to see our products on store shelves within the next four to six weeks,” explains Hotam. 

“Post COVID-19 is a very exciting time for us. The last couple of years have been extremely difficult for us to talk to R&D and to talk to several divisions in our organization for obvious reasons. We see this as a fresh start to meet as many good leads as possible.” 

“Food companies or sports nutrition companies that are looking to introduce vegan protein companies into their product lines can now come to us and see the benefits of our research,” he concludes.