Plant proteins and starches – and what happens to the side stream
Plant proteins and starches – and what happens to the side stream
Profitability is rarely decided by the main fraction. It is decided by what comes off alongside it. In dry fractionation that is the starch fraction: if it finds no buyer above feed price, the calculation collapses, no matter how cleanly the plant runs. Extrusion, milling and dehulling follow the same pattern. I ran that calculation myself for seven years, not only as an adviser.
Process technology, product development and market entry for food manufacturers, ingredient producers, equipment suppliers and investors. Focus: plant proteins, starches and the side streams they generate.
Since 1995
in the plant protein market
5,000 t/year
plant designed, built and operated
7 years
as an entrepreneur and manufacturer, not only as an adviser
Formulation and plant are usually decided separately. I have been responsible for both, as a manufacturer and on the equipment supplier side. That is why I see early where one side fails because of the other.
Areas of expertise
Raw materials and product strategy
Which raw material carries your product, what protein content is realistically achievable, and what it costs you in the formulation.
Process and scale-up
Dry fractionation, extrusion, milling, air classification, drying. From lab sample to a plant that delivers week after week.
Side streams and valorisation
What comes off alongside the main fraction decides the calculation. Upgrading instead of feed price.
Market and application
Does the product have a market, and through which channel does it reach it. Market studies, market entry, sales development.
For investors and capital providers: technical and commercial due diligence
Independent review of process, yields, cost calculation and market assumptions before money is committed. By someone who has built and operated a plant of this kind.
Where my judgement comes from
In 1995 I was selling soluble wheat protein to sausage manufacturers at Tate & Lyle. Plant protein is not a trend I discovered in 2019; it has been the subject of my entire working life.
I founded Viridi Foods in 2016 and ran it until 2023. This included building and operating a production plant for dry fractionation and air classification, designed for 5,000 tonnes per year, producing protein concentrates at 45 to 65 percent protein content along with starch fractions.
That period gave me the part of the experience you cannot read up on: yields falling short of the calculation, side streams without a buyer, batch variation in the raw material. That is where the value of my advice sits.
References
“Connects technical potential with commercial requirements and turns strategy into practice.”
Head of Life Science Technology · German manufacturer of extrusion technology · 2025
“In-depth expertise in size reduction and classification technologies for proteins and starches.”
Managing Director · German process equipment manufacturer · 2024
“Exceptionally high level of expertise in these raw materials, from production through to application technology.”