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A Portuguese food ingredients producer is looking for European partners for an EUREKA Project: Developing innovative and highly nutritious vegan Cheese from Lablab Beans

Summary

Closed for EoI
Profile Type
  • Research & Development Request
POD Reference
RDRPT20240812020
Term of Validity
12 August 2024 - 12 August 2025
Company's Country
  • Portugal
Type of partnership
  • Research and development cooperation agreement
Targeted Countries
  • All countries
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General information

Short Summary
A Portuguese R&D performing SME producing food ingredients is developing new food products, such as nachos based on Lablab beans (lablab purpureus). They are looking for partners to apply to the next EUREKA open call. The sought partners must have top expertise in food rheology, to provide knowledge and improve the quality, optimize the texture and consistency of the vegan cheese they intend to develop.
Full Description
The project aims to revolutionize the vegan cheese market by developing a cutting-edge range of high-nutrition cheeses incorporating Lablab beans and protein-rich fractions extracted from Lablab flour. Renowned for its health benefits and sustainability, Lablab beans serve as a cornerstone ingredient in the company’s innovative formulations. Their focus lies in creating vegan cheeses enriched with protein-rich extracts, elevating their nutritional value while enhancing texture, structure, and mouthfeel. By leveraging Lablab's nutritional prowess, we aim to deliver superior-quality vegan cheeses. This project encompasses ingredient formulation, packaging innovation, and market introduction, all underscored by our unwavering commitment to sustainability across product components and packaging materials. The SME seeks to participate in the Eureka network project (open call):
The company seeks partnership under research and development cooperation agreement.
Advantages and Innovations
The project operates within the domain of sustainable food production and innovation. It aims to leverage the Lablab beans' unique benefits—high nutritional value, sustainability, and notably low water needs—to meet the increasing demand for plant-based, environmentally friendly food options. By developing a nutritious, sustainable and taste vegan cheese, it will address the consumers that want a full gastronomic experience without animal products. This initiative not only brings an innovative food choice to the market and supports the cultivation of a crop that bolsters soil health and thrives with minimal water, offering a practical, enjoyable option for everyday consumption.
The goal and the technical challenge will be combining innovative agronomic research with advanced food science techniques. This involves exploring various methods for converting Lablab beans into flour, focusing on achieving the optimal flour formulation in terms of granulometry, relative humidity, and the removal of anti-nutritional factors to produce the cheese but also to be suitable to protein extraction, without compromise the nutritional integrity and ensure proper meltability, stretchiness, firmness and flavor. After that, another challenge will be ensuring the shelf stability and preservation of vegan cheese, especially when incorporating protein-rich fractions. Addressing factors such as microbial growth, lipid oxidation, and textural changes over time requires formulation adjustments and packaging considerations.
Technical Specification or Expertise Sought
The company is actively seeking a strategic partnership with a European company renowned for its specific technical expertise in food rheology to enhance the development of vegan cheese.Food rheology plays a crucial role in determining the texture, mouthfeel, and overall sensory experience of cheese. The partnership will explore innovative approaches, ingredients, and processing techniques to achieve the desired sensory attributes while maintaining the nutritional integrity of vegan cheese.By harnessing the expertise of their European partner, the company aims to not only enhance the taste and mouthfeel of the cheese, but also differentiate its offerings in the competitive market landscape.
Stage of Development
  • Under development
Sustainable Development Goals
  • Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
  • Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being
  • Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
  • Goal 13: Climate Action
IPR status
  • No IPR applied

Partner Sought

Expected Role of a Partner
The company is open to collaborating with various types of partners, including industry experts, research organizations, academic institutions, and technology providers. The primary focus is on partners with specialized knowledge and experience in food rheology and ingredient formulation.
The expected tasks for the partner sought include collaboration closely with the company to optimize the texture and consistency of vegan cheese through advanced rheological analysis and formulation adjustments and contribute expertise in ingredient formulation to enhance the nutritional profile and sensory attributes of vegan cheese, ensuring a balance of taste, texture, and nutritional value. The partner should be able to identify key concepts and project objectives, conducting an extensive review of ingredients rheology, develops formulations that produce the desired rheological characteristics of the the vegan cheese, collaborating on resource management and patent filing considerations.
Type and Size of Partner
  • University
  • SME <=10
  • SME 11-49
  • R&D Institution
  • SME 50 - 249
  • Big company
  • Other
Type of partnership
  • Research and development cooperation agreement

Call details

Framework program
  • Eureka
Call title and identifier
Eureka Call for Network Projects
Submission and evaluation scheme
Eureka Evaluation scheme in two phases (International and National)
1. International application to the Eureka platform
2. National application in Portugal to the dedicated notice
Anticipated project budget
1.5 - 2 Million
Coordinator required
No
Deadline for EoI
Deadline of the call
Project duration in weeks
130
Web link to the call
https://eurekanetwork.org/opencalls/network-projects-all-year/
Project title and acronym
Project title: Developing innovative and highly nutritious vegan Cheese from Lablab Beans
Acronym: QBean

Dissemination

Market keywords
  • 07003002 - Health food
  • 07004008 - Other consumer products
Targeted countries
  • All countries