France embarks on protein transition with AlinOVeg project

Six French companies have announced the launch of a collaborative project: AlinOVeg "Innovating in plant-based food". For the next five years, these companies will work together on the challenges of innovation in plant-based food to develop a plant-based source sector (pea and fava bean protein) in France and to offer healthy and sustainable alternatives to dairy products. 

AlinOVeg, an ambitious project “from the field to the plate”

To achieve the goal, AlinOVeg relies upon a development driven by consumers’ expectations. AlinOVeg will offer products with optimal functional, nutritional, and organoleptic qualities. In addition, the project will rely on the development of more sustainable processes thanks to a large varietal selection, new valorization processes and more resilient local sectors. AlinOVeg will also address farmers directly to better meet their needs and enable them to optimize the value of pea and fava bean crops. 

This project is supported by a budget of €11.4M, of which €8.3M are provided by the French government as part of the France 2030 actions and operated by Bpifrance. In a context of the accelerating food transition for more sustainable solutions and a growing desire for food independence via the use of more local supply chains, AlinOVeg will be a key project, driving innovation and generating new markets. 

AlinOVeg brings together six players of the plant-based value chain:

• Roquette, the project’s sponsor, is a French family-owned company that is a pioneer in plant proteins and a global leader in plant-based ingredients for the food, nutrition, and health markets.
• Eurial is a company recognized in France and Europe for its skills in the dairy product manufacturing industry  and its expertise in the alternative milk sector.
• INRAE (National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment), the leading French research organization specialized in these areas.
• Université Lumière Lyon 2, French social science university involved in this project  dedicated to the food transition.
• Agri Obtentions, a subsidiary of INRAE, a major key player in the development and the distribution of pulse varieties.
• Greencell, SME specialized in microbial biotechnologies, whose mission is to research, to develop, to produce, and to market active ingredients derived from raw materials of microbial origin.

This 5-year project will be marked by key research and development milestones to remove technological barriers along the value chain.