Ingredion Inc, the US food tech leader, has taken an equity stake in Israeli chickpea specialist InnovoPro. Ingredion continues to grow its plant-based portfolio with InnovoPro – developer of a proprietary extraction process to concentrate protein from the chickpea.
Chicago-headquartered Ingredion has operations in multiple countries and last year posted net sales of $7 billion. The company is investing heavily in the plant-based sector, having launched its own plant-based protein platform, with the new InnovoPro deal following similar acquisitions of KaTech and Verdient Foods. Terms of the InnovoPro investment were not disclosed.
Founded in 2015, InnovoPro has developed a 70% protein concentrate from chickpeas that the company claims has a neutral taste, high functionality, and high nutritional value. The chickpea-based egg white alternative is for use in vegan desserts such as meringues, pavlova, and mousse. InnovoPro also recently launched what it claims is the first-ever texturized vegetable protein made from chickpeas for use in alt meat production.
“We believe this investment will unlock huge consumer appeal for chickpea protein concentrates,” stated Michael Natale, global leader of Ingredion’s plant-based protein platform. “InnovoPro has a strong portfolio of chickpea solutions, and we are excited about the potential for the new applications that this will enable for our customers by capitalizing on the trends shaping the food industry.”
