Cosun Beet Company has developed a novel ingredient specifically designed for plant-based and hybrid products. This ingredient is the result of Cosun Beet Company’s ambition to valorize the full potential of its sugar beets. The name of this ingredient is Fidesse®, a name that is rapidly gaining recognition.
Cosun Beet Company’s ambition stems from its vision: ‘The Plant Positive Way’. This vision is based on circularity and maximizing the potential of the crop, in this case, the sugar beet. With smart, sustainable solutions, Cosun Beet Company aims to extract everything possible from the sugar beet in the most sustainable way. The company has been doing this for years but continues to seek even more valuable applications.
Climbing the ladder
The Research, Development & Innovation department of Cosun Beet Company explored a more valuable application for the beet pulp that remains as a by-product after the sugar production process. This pulp has been used for animal feed and biogas for many years. However, a higher step on Moerman’s circular food management ladder is ‘food for humans’. Therefore, they investigated whether beet pulp could also be suitable for this purpose.
Unique fibres
The answer is an unequivocal ‘yes!’ now that Cosun Beet Company has developed Fidesse® from sugar beet pulp. This ingredient mainly consists of water and fibres that naturally occur in the sugar beet. The high fibre content is already a plus, but these fibres also have unique properties that make them extremely suitable as an ingredient for meat and fish substitutes, as well as hybrid products.
Bite and juiciness
One of the most remarkable properties is the strong cell structure, which allows the fibre to retain moisture, even during the production process. Only under high pressure, such as biting, do the fibres release the moisture. Thanks to this property, Fidesse® adds a pleasant bite and juiciness to products.

Neutral in taste and colour
A second important property is the neutral taste and colour of beet pulp. Therefore, no additional masking flavours need to be added to end products containing Fidesse® to mask any off flavours. On the contrary, the pulp is excellent at absorbing the water-based flavours and colours present in the recipe.
More sustainable ingredient
Both properties give Fidesse® a significant advantage over most other ingredients currently used to add filling and structure to vegan products. Compared to these ingredients, such as soy and peas, Fidesse® has a third advantage: sustainability. It is a by-product of the sugar production process, so no crops are grown specifically for it. It is abundantly available and produced in the same country where the sugar beets are grown and processed: the Netherlands. This contributes to a lower carbon footprint.
Launching customer: Aviko
With so many advantages, it didn’t take long for Cosun Beet Company to find the first interested producers who wanted to integrate Fidesse® into their vegan products: Aviko was at the forefront. Together with a technical product specialist from Cosun Beet Company, they developed the falafel burger with Fidesse® and successfully so. There are now also falafel bites, and Cosun Beet Company and Aviko are working on new product developments.
Proven Effect
With the falafel variations, Fidesse® proves its distinctive ability to add juiciness. Falafel is relatively dry by Western standards, but with Fidesse®, the falafel burger and bites have achieved a tasty level of juiciness.
Fish bites with Fidesse®
This also applies to the fish bites from Monkeys by the Sea. Various recipes were tried for this product at the Cosun Innovation Center, where Fidesse® was intended to add extra juiciness and a looser structure. Achieving this looser structure, along with taste, is a major challenge for fish substitutes. Fidesse® proved to be the solution for the fish bites from Monkeys by the Sea. The company is so enthusiastic about it that they also want to use Fidesse® in future recipes.

Positive effect on Nutri-Score
An additional advantage, which is of significant value to many producers and consumers, is the effect that Fidesse® can have on the Nutri-Score of products. It contains a lot of fibre and virtually no sugars, saturated fats, or salt. Therefore, Fidesse® has less than 20 kcal per 100 grams.
Major breakthrough in 2025
The advantages and successful product applications of Aviko and Monkeys by the Sea, as well as Cosun Beet Company’s own product applications (Fidesse® burgers, sausages, and fish applications, specially made to demonstrate the possibilities), have already convinced many producers to work with Fidesse®. The first products are expected to hit the shelves by the end of this year, and a major breakthrough is also predicted in 2025, outside the Netherlands.
Co-developer
Cosun Beet Company is happy to take on the role of co-developer in the development process. A specialized team of technical product specialists actively helps producers discover the possibilities of Fidesse® in their products. Many producers are used to plant-based ingredients in powder form, whereas Fidesse® is a wet fibre in frozen form; so this takes some getting used to. But thanks to the knowledge and experience of Cosun Beet Company specialists, ways to make products tastier and healthier are quickly found.
Significant impact
The great success of Fidesse® is it not only fits perfectly within Cosun Beet Company’s own upcycling ambition, but it also represents an important step forward in the transition to a more plant-based food system. This is partly as an ingredient for vegetarian and vegan products, but also significantly as an ingredient for hybrid products. This also has the potential to reach a much larger target group and therefore also a more significant impact in lowering the carbon footprint.
Discover Fidesse®: https://www.cosunbeetcompany.com/products/food/fidesse