From idea to finished product in just two weeks? Planteneers makes it possible with the new Plantbaser™, a digital configurator that greatly simplifies the development of plant-based foods. 
With Plantbaser, plant-based foods manufacturers can put together custom products quickly and easily from a range of different ingredients. All they need to do is define the criteria, building from an extensive portfolio of solutions. Planteneers then quickly sends customers product samples, greatly accelerating product development.

There is currently no comparably comprehensive interactive tool like Plantbaser. As Dr. Matthias Moser, Managing Director of the Food Ingredients Division of the Stern-Wywiol Gruppe, explains, “we examined in great detail what point of the product development process it would make more sense to digitalise. In our view, that’s in the first phase, which goes from product definition to the first sample. Plantbaser reduces these steps to the minimum necessary. Manufacturers can get a new product ready for market much more quickly and efficiently.”

When developing Plantbaser, Planteneers applied a well-established principle in B2C and B2B food ingredients arenas: individual product configuration. “Digitalisation is making enormous progress in B2B. For us, it was a logical next step to develop an instrument that saves customers a great deal of time and money through digital product development,” said Torsten Wywiol, CEO of the Stern-Wywiol Gruppe.

No plant-based expertise needed
With the configurator, customers can use the entire bandwidth of conceivable products and give their ideas tangible form, simplifying the process of developing innovations. Another crucial advantage – especially for conventional meat and dairy manufacturers – is that it requires no dedicated plant-based expertise. 

Plantbaser shows which proteins fit which products. For example, a company wanting to make a plant-based alternative to conventional yogurt can choose between various protein sources including almonds, cashews, oats, and rice. It can also define allergenic ingredients that should under no circumstances be in the product. Other parameters are the production technology and product base. Properties like fat and protein content, colour, texture, and mouthfeel can be defined individually.

Perhaps the best part of the configuration process is that a video immediately gives a realistic impression of the product with the selected properties. “For this visualisation we made videos of countless products, so that customers can see what the final result will look like right on the screen,” says Dr. Moser. “They can immediately see how the texture changes if they increase or reduce the fat or protein content.”

Fastest product development
Within 15 to 20 minutes, the customer can put together the desired product and order a sample, which will be ready in two weeks, either as a set of four ready-to-eat products, or as a powder. Up to three sets can be requested per order. The same goes for powder, which is available in three different grammages. In addition to material and personnel, refrigerated shipping also generates costs, so samples are not free of charge.

When the customer orders a product sample, they also get the ingredients list and specifications, plus step-by-step preparation instructions and specifics on the production equipment needed. Companies can check the status of sample orders in their personalised customer account, which also stores product details. Ideally, the sample meets all expectations. In that case, the customer can order the respective compounds directly from Sales. If the flavour or texture aren’t quite where they need to be yet, a new configuration can be ordered. Planteneers experts are naturally available to address any questions.

Currently customers use Plantbaser to create their own plant-based alternatives to cheese, fermented dairy, meat, and mayonnaise. Soon, a variety of plant-based baked goods and alternatives to egg and fish products will be offered.

Plantbaser can be found at planteneers.com