Plant proteins
Today, for many reasons, food products contain more and more vegetable proteins. This can be to improve the nutritional composition, to make products without animal ingredients, or to provide functionalities in formulations (gelling agents, emulsifiers, etc.)
Plant proteins are all proteins from the plant world or similar (mushrooms). We can therefore list the following sources:
- Pulses/legumes : soybeans, mung beans, peas, chickpeas, split peas, broad beans, fava beans, beans, lentils, lupins, alfalfa, etc.
- Cereals and pseudo-cereals: wheat, rye, rice, barley, oats, corn, sorghum, teff, fonio, buckwheat, quinoa, etc.
- Oilseeds: flax, sesame, hemp, chia, sunflower, amaranth, peanut, walnut, hazelnut, almond, etc.
- Algae and similar substances: chlorella, spirulina, hematococcus, Dunaliela,..
- Yeasts: Brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and other yeasts (Candida Utilis, Kluyveromyces marxianus), etc.
- Fungi : mycoproteins either by cultivation of the fungus or by culture of the mycelium (root system).
Market research generally only takes into account the main raw materials that are most present on the market: Legume, cereal and oilseed proteins. It is true that today, other sources represent modest volumes (algae, mycoproteins, yeasts) and are mainly intended for innovation in the search for alternatives for the future (egg, meat, seafood, dairy product substitutes, etc.).
The plant-based protein market is growing rapidly worldwide. It is expected to double in the next 10 years.
Today, animal feed still dominates the vegetable protein market. Animals consume 4 times more plant protein than is used for human consumption.
The Europe plant-based protein market is expected to grow by 6.66% during the forecast period 2021-2026.
Europe, despite large production, is not self-sufficient, and has to import part of the vegetable proteins, especially legumes (soya).
Similarly, production in France only meets 63% of national needs.
Private and public research on plant proteins has continued to grow very strongly over the last 10 years.
Public investment to promote the development of plant proteins is important. For example, in France there is a “France Plant Protein Plan” pushed by the state. On the other hand, there was a slowdown in private investment in plant-based startups in 2024, but the trend seems to be on the rise again.
