From Canadian crops to global sizzle: crafting the next plant-based burger

As consumers around the world look for new ways to increase their protein consumption, one request is consistently made: They want products that are delicious and nutritious with an appealing texture, regardless of whether they’re made from meat or plants. A new partnership spanning Canada and the United Kingdom aims to help meet that demand, by using Canadian-grown and -processed ingredients in a new line of plant-based burgers.

Canadian companies Lovingly Made Flour Mills and Botaneco are combining their expertise with UK-based Stars UK R&D and University of Leeds to solve moisture and juiciness challenges in plant-based burgers. The partners will work with Canadian-grown legumes and sunflower, turning the crops into protein-rich ingredients and novel fat solutions that will help boost the nutritional content and functional properties of the burgers. The project is part of Protein Industries Canada’s initiative with Innovate UK to increase collaboration between Canadian and UK agrifood companies, in an effort to meet the protein demands of each region’s consumers.

“Canada has an unparalleled opportunity to supply the world with ingredients that are not only functional and nutritious, but also sustainable,” Protein Industries Canada CEO Robert Hunter said. “Initiatives like this unite Canadian innovation with the growing global appetite for healthier, better-tasting plant-based foods. By aligning our world-class ingredients with international demand, we can strengthen Canada’s domestic food and ingredient processing sector, capture new markets, and expand our global reach.”

The project builds off the success of previous Botaneco and Lovingly Made Flour Mills projects under the Protein Industries Canada portfolio. By building off of Botaneco’s oleosome work, and Lovingly Made Flour Mills’ extrusion work, the partners will optimize existing processing techniques to create new textured protein ingredients incorporating novel plant-based fats. The University of Leeds will work with the Canadian partners to ensure the ingredients meet the functional, taste and texture characteristics consumers are looking for; once this testing is complete, Stars UK will incorporate the ingredients into a new line of plant-based burgers for distribution through global restaurant chains.

“At Lovingly Made Flour Mills, we’re committed to transforming Canadian-grown crops into high-quality, functional ingredients that meet the evolving needs of global consumers,” said Heidi Dutton, CEO at Lovingly Made Flour Mills. “This partnership allows us to combine our expertise in legume processing and extrusion with cutting-edge international research to create better plant-based products—ones that deliver on taste, texture and nutrition while supporting Canadian farmers and processors.”

"There is a significant gap between the needs of consumers today and the performance of plant-based meat on the market,” Botaneco Chief Executive Officer, James Szarko said. “This builds upon the ongoing Protein Industries Canada-supported development of our Purezome oilbodies and our partner’s developed protein ingredients, extracted from Canadian crops, to provide more nutritious, less-processed and a more functional fat system for plant-based meat. The commercial success of this project enables the expansion from commodity to value-added ingredients through scale-up of current manufacturing capacity, here in Canada."

The international partnership is an opportunity for Canada to build on the reputation of its strong agriculture sector, adding value to protein crops here at home through innovative processing techniques. Together, the partners are not only using these ingredients to bring new food options to consumers around the world, but also to help Canada achieve new economic opportunity through a growing footprint in the global agrifood market, helping the country meet its $25 billion agrifood potential.