Taste focus for Solae soy

Freshly formed Bunge-Dupont soy ingredient joint venture, The Solae Company, is to plunge into flavors and to work on the taste of soy protein through a new collaboration with flavor scientists at the Linguagen corporation.

Under terms of the agreement, Linguagen will conduct research and development in the field of flavor discovery and modification. Based on achievement of specific research milestones, both companies may agree to commercialise these flavor-modifying compounds, said The Solae Company in a statement this week.

Privately-held Linguagen develops products that 'improve the palatability of oral medicines and enhance the flavor and nutritional value of foods and beverages'.

"We consistently see an increased demand for soy-based products, particularly among mainstream consumers. To meet the needs of these consumers, we maintain our focus of advancing the flavor and functional performance of our ingredients across a wide variety of foods and beverages,"​ said Tony Arnold, CEO of The Solae Company.

"Linguagen has developed one of the strongest technologies in the emerging field of taste signaling,"​ added Shawn M. Marcell, COO and acting CEO at Linguagen.

When DuPont and Bunge announced the birth of Solae at the beginning of the year, they said that the joint venture would allow them 'to grow their agriculture and nutrition businesses' through the creation of a new business offering a wide range of services to farmers.

DuPont contributed its Protein Technologies food ingredients business for a majority interest in the joint venture. In exchange for its speciality food ingredients businesses, Bunge received a 28 per cent interest in the venture plus an estimated $260 million in cash, to be funded by joint venture debt. It also has the right to increase its ownership to 40 per cent based upon a pre-agreed formula.

At the time, the two companies said they expected the initial revenues of Solae to be around $800 million a year.