The last two years have seen a slowdown in investment by the global food and drink industry, particularly in terms of products containing added sugar. However, plant-based drinks and alternative proteins have continued to grow as a sector.
There are a number of reasons that food and drink manufacturers have postponed investment over the last 24 months. Some were waiting for interest rates to fall to make investment finance more attractive and reduce the price of raw materials, while others appear wary of the effects of proposed legislation by Western governments to tackle public health issues such as obesity and diabetes, which could see the introduction of taxes on sugar and fat, for example.
Yet at HRS Heat Exchangers we’ve seen a difference between some of our traditional markets, such as those making juices, sauces and carbonated drinks, where investment has definitely slowed – and the plant-based and health-food sector where, despite some market readjustment, confidence has been noticeably higher.
We are definitely seeing more demand from manufacturers of plant-based drinks, and not just those using traditional ingredients like soy and oat, but others such as coconut or rice. From our perspective, the actual ingredient is less relevant than its properties. From a design point of view, the material’s viscosity, thermal conductivity and how it flows are more important. Once we’ve established those parameters we can design an efficient heat exchanger.
The ultra-heat treatment (UHT) of soy-, nut- and oat-based milk alternatives is fundamentally the same process as for dairy and, given our experience in dairy processing (together with the increasing use of our systems for handling meat products), makes us well placed to provide solutions both for plant-based drinks and alternative proteins.
One of our particular specialisms is dealing with viscous materials, whether that’s milk or yoghurt alternatives, plant-based spreads or nut butters. Another consideration is providing manufacturers with flexible equipment that adapts as their product offerings evolve.
In addition, our long-term relationship with Spain’s National Technological Centre for the Food and Canning Industry (CTNC), as well as our range of skid-mounted trial systems, means that we are ideally placed to help manufacturers develop the optimal thermal process for new, reformulated or existing products.
In recent years we have also added the HRS Direct Steam Injection (DSI) System to our range of pasteurisation and sterilisation systems. For products such as plant-based milk alternatives this provides rapid heating without cooking the product, preventing the formation of caramel-type compounds or unwanted flavours.
By Antonio Guillermo Jara Ponce, Systems Sales Manager, HRS Heat Exchangers
