KWS partners with vly to further develop plant-based foods

Seed specialist, KWS, and the Berlin-based start up VF Nutrition, better known under the brand name 'vly', are entering a multiyear development partnership. The two companies are working together to advance the development of foods based on pea protein.

vly has been developing and marketing pea protein-based dairy alternatives for three years, aiming to serve the growing market for nutritious plant-based foods. KWS has a broad portfolio of seeds for various crops. The company started breeding yellow peas back in the 1980s and is now the leader in France, the largest and most important European pea market. The seed specialist is expanding the focus of its breeding work beyond such criteria as yield, resource efficiency and standing power to include adapting plant genetic traits for use as plant-based food ingredients.

With this in mind, KWS and vly have decided to enter a multiyear development partnership. “As a seed producer, we can contribute to food development right from the start – for example, in terms of improving taste, processing quality and texture,” explained Nigel Moore, who oversees the area of nutritional food ingredients at KWS.

“Closely collaborating with downstream players in the value chain is the key to developing new products with tailored ingredients.”

“Our collaboration puts to use knowledge and methods from molecular biology, bioinformatics, sensory science and food technology to drive innovation and long-term change in the field of dairy alternatives made on the basis of, in particular, peas and to provide healthy, nutritious and flavourful products for consumers,” added Dr Anna Birke, Senior Fermentation Scientist and Innovation Manager at vly.