ANDFOODS Pulse Power: The Low Carbon Move from Lactose to Lentils

The humble lentil could be set to replace milk and cream, and transform the landscape of dairy alternatives.

That’s the claim by ANDFOODS, a group of visionary New Zealand researchers at the Riddet Institute who have crafted a pioneering fermentation process which creates dairy-free ingredients from pulses that rival traditional dairy in taste, texture and multi-functionality.

ANDFOODS mission began with a breakthrough which revealed a valuable and nutritious side stream, marking it a promising product line. The pulses are processed and split into liquids and solids, creating tasty, highly nutritious ingredients which form the base of the company’s powders, milks, and creams. By unlocking the power of pulses through its fermentation technology, ANDFOODS is bringing its research to the commercial stage. It promises that food manufacturers can easily swap out traditional dairy ingredients for their innovative lentil-based products.

_{Co-founder Alejandra is pipping the whipping cream onto a two-layered mousse dessert that also contains the cream.}

In the face of mounting pressure to cut carbon footprints, many food manufacturers are turning to dairy alternatives as a crucial element of their strategy. Now, ANDFOODS has teamed up with global food manufacturers and aims to integrate what they see as their superior dairy alternatives into a wide range of nutritious and multi-functional products. Their whipped cream substitute and nutrient-rich by-products have already caught the attention of major US food producers; their technology will be used in a new plant-based ice cream that they believe will be the best in the world for taste, texture, and environmental impact. Global manufacturers are eager for trials, with initial target markets in Southeast Asia, Australia, and the US. Singapore is leading the charge.

_{Team photo (back row: Harjinder Singh, Arup Nag, Yiran Wang, front row: Jamie Wood, Alejandra Acevedo-Fani, Debashree Roy and Alex Devereux)}

The R&D team is diligently working on clinical trials to test the gut health benefits of their zero-waste, allergen-free products. ANDFOODS claims that the positive impact on soil is already proven; as pulses put nitrogen back into the soil used by rotation crops like rice, there is no need for additional fertiliser.

The company sees its technology as a ground-breaking approach to food production, unlocking the potential of a previously under-utilized, nutrient-dense food source. Through what it claims to be a world-first fermentation process, it’s on a mission to expand the horizon of dairy alternatives and fuel the future of low-carbon food innovation.

Learn more about ANDFOODS.

Written by Gilly Smith
Photos and captions provided by ANDFOODS

ANDFOODS' co-founder Debashree Roy in a field in India inspecting a specific variety of lentils grown by a local farmer. It is common to grow this crop in rotation with rice because pulses put nitrogen into the soil, which can then be used by the next rice crop.

ANDFOODS Pulse Power: The Low Carbon Move from Lactose to Lentils

Nominate yourself or someone else, it takes three minutes and could change the world!