VTT White Paper: Plant-Based Ingredient Businesses Must Move Beyond Protein-Only Models to Attract Capital

The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has released a white paper exploring the key factors that distinguish investable plant-based ingredient businesses from those struggling to attract capital. The paper emphasizes the importance of extracting value from every fraction of raw materials, rather than solely focusing on protein content, in order to achieve profitability. The study suggests that businesses should move towards milder enrichment processes that preserve fibre and bioactive compounds for specific applications, rather than pursuing maximum purity through traditional extraction methods.

Additionally, the paper highlights the potential profitability bottleneck that exists in protein-only business models, as they often overlook the value of carbohydrate-rich fractions and hulls that are left unused. To address this, VTT advocates for decentralised and modular production models that are aligned with regional raw materials, citing successful examples like Happy Plant Protein and Viking Malt’s Sprau. The full white paper is available on VTT’s website for further insights on how plant-based ingredient businesses can enhance their attractability to investors.