Interviews

Ohly: “We Aim to Delight Our Customers With Innovative & Functional Ingredients Solutions”

Ohly is one of the world’s leading suppliers of yeast-based ingredients and culinary powders for the global food, fermentation, human and animal health markets.

Ohly offers a wide range of products such as yeast extracts, inactive dry yeast, yeast cell wall derivatives, probiotic yeast and autolysed yeast, based on baker’s, torula yeast and specialty powders. 

We spoke with Jan Bebber, Global Platform Director – New Business, about the Hamburg-based ingredients specialist’s work in the plant-based sector.

Please can you give us some background to the business?
We are a part of the ABF Ingredients group, which focuses on high-value ingredients for food, pharmaceutical and industrial applications.

Using state of the art research and application centres as well as factory linked pilot plants combined with a wealth of expertise, we at Ohly aim to delight our customers with new innovative and functional ingredients solutions fit for the customers’ changing needs.

Native yeast gelling protein - Ohly
©Ohly

What about sustainability?
At Ohly, we have always been a team where how we go about our work is as important as what we achieve. That means we set the targets towards a better future for the environment, our people and our customers and are committed to achieving them with our dedicated projects. With Ohly´s value Doing the right thing right at our core, we’re committed to playing an active part in addressing global sustainability challenges across three pillars – people, planet and customers.

That means we are committed to:

  • Taking excellent care of our employees, partners, customers, suppliers and neighbours in the communities in which we operate
  • Focussing the efforts of our scientists and innovators on creating state-of-the-art ingredients that genuinely help our customers to contribute to healthier and sustainable lifestyles
  • Respecting the planet by continually reducing our environmental impact and accelerating our decarbonisation journey

What are Ohly’s offerings for the plant-based sector?
Ohly believes that for any consumer to return to a plant-based product, it has to convince them with authentic taste and flavour.

Native yeast gelling protein on spoons - Ohly
©Ohly

With this in mind, we have developed our Plant Protein Taste Toolbox – a  comprehensive selection of yeast-based ingredients delivering key taste functionality for a  wide range of products including vegan dairy and meat alternatives.

Our products deliver umami, off-note masking, salt reduction, meaty flavour, mouthfeel and colour while ticking all labelling boxes (natural, Kosher, Halal, Vegan, No allergen and non-GMO). We aimed to develop these products to help with clearing many of the hurdles in developing plant-based products with true, authentic taste. 

Ohly’s ingredients are already used in major commercial plant-based products worldwide. Whether recipes are based on legumes, wheat, nuts or other proteins, they help to create a natural & authentic flavour experience that can make the difference between consumer curiosity and returning consumers.

What are your latest innovations in the plant-based sector?
Inspired by traditional cooking methods, Ohly has harnessed the functional potential of natural yeast to create the perfect signature chicken flavour: OHLY® SAV-R-MEAT PBD. The high umami impact and true juicy, dark-meat chicken flavour delivers strong body and function, with no ingredients of animal origin  –so it is perfect for a plant-based diet.

Ohly Sav R Meat
©Ohly

This flavour delivers true braised chicken taste and functions helping to overcome various challenges plant-based product developers face. It effectively masks undesirable off-tastes, its true dark-meat note delivers the perception of succulence. In addition, this flavour enables potential salt reduction by increasing perception of salt and provides a robust and long-lasting umami sensation helping reaching a meat-like mouthfeel for plant-based chicken alternatives.

In addition, we have a yeast-based functional protein in our pipeline – this native gelling protein mimics the function of eggwhite in plant-based recipes, while overcoming several challenges of other options used in this space. For example, our yeast protein is neutral to favourable in taste, allergen-free, and it is produced based on traditional baker’s yeast. You can check out our recent article on vegconomist.com to learn more.

Ohly ad
©Ohly

What sets Ohly apart?
Ohly is the reliable partner for our customers in the markets in which we operate. We develop innovative and functional products offering solutions to our customers and creating added value. Our customers can count on our quality and expertise, as well as the renowned service and solution-oriented mentality of our team.

In the food space, we deliver a wide selection of taste and flavour tools especially designed for savoury food products. An additional valuable ingredient for vegan and vegetarian diets are our nutritional yeasts, rich in B-group vitamins, all essential amino acids, organically bound minerals and dietary fibre.

Where can interested parties meet Ohly in person this year (trade fairs/expositions…)?
Ohly will be present next at SnackEx in Hamburg, Germany, at Food Ingredients Europe as well as various national and regional shows in the US. Feel free to also reach out to us via our website and LinkedIn page for more details.

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