Friday, 17 January 2025
Researchers in the Division of Food, Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Nottingham have been awarded funding to develop the next generation of plant-based protein products.
The funding is part of the UK-Canada Innovate UK initiative that aims to strengthen ties between the UK and Canadian food sectors, fostering innovation as both countries intensify efforts toward achieving net zero and creating more sustainable food supply chains.
This collaborative transdisciplinary project will involve three leading research groups from the University of Nottingham, plant-based food producer Jampa’s, as well as the Canadian food manufacturer, Tartistes
Jampa’s already has a range of clean label plant-based products focused on delivering great taste and texture. By integrating product reformulation, nutrition science, sensory science and packaging design, the project seeks to maximise the commercial success of the product and provide valuable insights into the broader category, as meat analogues face challenges from consumers.
’This collaboration represents an exciting step forward in our work developing innovative, sustainable food solutions. By collaborating with Jampa’s, this grant bridges the gap between cutting edge research and real-world application. It takes a consumer centric approach to develop nutritionally enriched and great-tasting reformulated products that truly resonate with consumers’ needs and preferences.
Dr Yang adds: "This balanced approach will provide valuable insights in the food sector, offering healthier and more sustainable choices for consumers across global market."
Jampa’s is building on its successful, long-standing relationship with the Food Innovation Centre (FIC) who is leading in the product design and development. The project will focus on reformulating Jampa’s current plant-based beef analogue to include local and valorised crops that have potential in both UK and Canadian markets.
Plant-based meat product
To enhance nutritional value, the project places a strong emphasis on delivering nutritious plant-based products with high nutrient bioavailability and digestibility. This will be achieved at the University’s Nutritional Composition and Digestibility lab where the team will use recently developed and robust in vitro gastro-intestinal digestion techniques integrated with cutting edge mass spectrometry to evaluate protein and amino acid digestibility.
The products will then be subjected to rigorous taste tests with consumers to ensure they are optimised to the highest standards by experts at the Sensory Science Centre. The team will collaborate closely with Jampa’s innovative packaging designers to create a seamless connection with its consumers, ensuring the product characteristics are communicated effectively.
Working with the University of Nottingham was an absolute game-changer for our grant application process. We've worked with the FIC for a couple of years, and when the IUK call came out and we needed a UK partner, they were the obvious choice. The entire UoN team provided unwavering support every step of the way from aligning our vision with the grant criteria to bringing together various departments whose expertise would help us achieve project objectives and create a strong proposal. They helped us clarify our proposal in an impactful way, and their guidance on data, formatting, IP, and deadlines ensured our application was polished and professional. What stood out most was their genuine investment in our success—they truly became partners in our journey.
The project has been supported by the University of Nottingham’s Innovate UK team that has an excellent track record in supporting successful and innovative companies. Since 2004, the university has collaborated with over 290 businesses and helped them to secure Innovate UK funding of over £280 million for their R&D projects.
If you’re interested in finding out more about how the university can support you to develop your innovations through Innovate UK funding contact: innovateuk@nottingham.ac.uk
Story credits
More information is available from Qian Yang on qian.yang@nottingham.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 24 in Europe and 15th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the third most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2024 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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