The ready-to-drink vegetable 'milk' is free of lactose, gluten, isoflavones and genetically modified ingredients. Another advantage of the product was that it was free of major allergens, unlike drinks based on ingredients such as soya beans, hazelnuts or almonds, said Roquette.
It also delivered easy digestibility alongside high nutritional value, according to the company.
Vegetal Booster is a patented drink made from Nutralys pea protein, water, maltodextrin and Nutriose FM 10, a soluble fibre produced from maize, which is designed to bestow a neutral, smooth, milky taste. These components have been mixed with a pear/vanilla flavouring developed by ingredients, scent and technology group Symrise, resulting in a soft and fruity beverage free of vegetable notes or a bitter aftertaste.
The combination of ingredients give the product a higher protein content than either cow's milk or soya milk.
The product is billed as a significant source of fibre. It also showcases Roquette's fine tuning of its Nutralys pea protein range to deliver high solubility and dispersability as well as a more neutral organoleptic profile.
Roquette claimed Nutralys represented a breakthrough in pea protein research because it reduced the vegetable taste and smell of previous vegetable-based proteins. "Up till now, the main restriction on the use of vegetable proteins was their taste differing slightly, depending on the botanical origin of the protein, but with a persistent odour and so-called 'green' sensory notes."
The Vegetal Booster showcases how Roquette's Nutralys and Nutriose ingredients developments could open up innovation possibilities in the ready-to-drink field, in desserts and as a culinary aid.
Nutralys held considerable further potential for certain food applications such as dairy, dietary and slimming products and those dedicated to sports.
"Vegetal Booster's concentrated combination of nutrition and innovation makes it an ideal concept and development candidate for industrial-scale producers," said Roquette, a top-ranked global starch processor and world leader in polyols, pyrogen-free raw materials and dry sugars.