Stefan Wessel & Wybren Bakker, Confectionery applications specialists at Avebe

A renowned confectionery producer was having to cope with long drying times for their starch-based gummies, limiting their production capacity. Their energy costs were too high, and factory output was down due to the increased drying time compared to the gelatin gummies they used to make. As a result, the company was looking for a way to reduce drying time without making investments in the production process. They also wanted to achieve a firmer texture in their gummies, without having to change the recipe.

By adding PerfectaGEL^® FS on top of their current recipe, the company was able to reduce drying time by 25%. This allowed them to simultaneously increase factory output, and lower energy costs per gummy. While also producing firmer, more sustainable gummies.

Producers of plant-based chicken nuggets, fish fingers and breaded meat alternatives face a coating challenge that conventional binders cannot solve cleanly. Egg white and wheat flour provide adhesion, but they introduce allergens and prevent clean-label positioning. When the coating separates from the substrate during frying, the consequences go beyond consumer disappointment because loose coating causes oil fouling, which affects food safety, fire safety and production cost. A cleaner solution that holds through pre-dusting, batter application, frying and freeze-thaw cycles prevents all these problems.

The solution earned the Fi Innovation Award 2024 for Plant-based Innovation. This recognises PerfectaSOL^® both for its technical performance and its relevance to an industry actively seeking cleaner, more functional alternatives to egg and wheat. PerfectaSOL^® works as a pre-dust or in batter, is compatible with gluten-free, corn and wheat-based coating systems, and carries vegan, gluten-free and free-from allergen labelling credentials under EU legislation.

Avebe’s potato starch ingredients are used by food manufacturers across a wide range of applications. In dairy, a leading yoghurt producer was looking to reduce fat content without compromising the creaminess and mouthfeel that consumers expect. By integrating ETENIA^® into their formulation, they achieved a 4%-fat yoghurt that outperformed commercial 5% and 10%-fat products on creaminess scores. The solution required no process adaptation and delivered the bright, white appearance and syneresis-free texture their retail customers demanded.

A snack manufacturer was looking to extend their stackable crisp range with a lower-fat variant. The commercial brief was clear: reduce the fat content, but keep the light, crispy texture. Previous attempts with standard starch systems had been rejected by consumer test panels. Working with Avebe’s application team, the manufacturer reformulated. A combination of SOLAN^® snack-optimised potato flakes and ELIANE^® potato-based starch delivered low-fat crisps with a proper crunch and taste.

A producer of ambient canned soups ran into barriers at the retail level. Competitors with fewer E-number declarations on the labels were taking over their shelf space. Under pressure to move towards a cleaner label, the search was on for new ingredients. Avebe’s UHT-stable potato starch system delivered the answer. It maintains target viscosity and texture through sterilisation and across the full shelf life, with no retrogradation or phase separation. Soup retains its smooth, creamy appearance and a mouthfeel consistent with the original formulation. A single clean-label declaration replaced the modified starch E-numbers on the label, allowing the producer to reclaim precious shelf space at the retail level.

A producer of ambient canned soups ran into barriers at the retail level. Competitors with fewer E-number declarations on the labels were taking over their shelf space. Under pressure to move towards a cleaner label, the search was on for new ingredients. Avebe’s UHT-stable potato starch system delivered the answer. It maintains target viscosity and texture through sterilisation and across the full shelf life, with no retrogradation or phase separation. Soup retains its smooth, creamy appearance and a mouthfeel consistent with the original formulation. A single clean-label declaration replaced the modified starch E-numbers on the label, allowing the producer to reclaim precious shelf space at the retail level.

Foamed candy presents one of the most demanding conditions in confectionery processing. Liquorice is inherently high in salt, which actively disrupts the foaming and gelling behaviour of gelatin, causing instability in the final product and limiting shelf life. For producers looking to move to a plant-based formulation, the challenge is compounded: most plant-based alternatives that can foam at all perform poorly in high-salt environments.

PerfectaSOL^® resolves this directly. Its high resistance to both pH variation and salt concentration allows it to maintain stable foam structure throughout processing and into the finished product. The foamed candy produced with PerfectaSOL^® achieved consistent texture and aeration, with long shelf life and no instability issues. Foamed candy with PerfectaSOL^® meets the same quality benchmarks as the gelatin-based original, enabling a fully vegan, free-from allergen labelling claim (according to EU labelling legislation) without compromising in quality.

A manufacturer of shoulder ham was working with a complex brine formulation that included native potato starch, soy protein isolate, carrageenan and phosphate to achieve the required water retention and texture in a 90% injection-level product. The label was long, the formulation was difficult to optimise and the soy protein isolate required an unwantedallergen declaration on the label.

By replacing native potato starch, soy protein isolate and reducing carrageenan with PerfectaBIND^® C, the manufacturer streamlined the brine to a significantly simpler composition while maintaining equivalent water retention and texture performance. PerfectaBIND^® C’s water binding capacity in salt matrices is substantially higher than native potato starch. This allowed it to carry the functional load that previously required multiple ingredients. PerfectaBIND^® C delivered a high-quality product, a more predictable production process and removed the allergen declaration from the label.