Spent grain, a byproduct of the beer brewing process, often goes to waste (although it’s sometimes fed to livestock). Canadian startup Terra Bio is giving the used grain a second life as a plant-based protein.
Terra Bio has developed a proprietary process called bio-fractionation, which breaks down the grain into component parts while leaving its proteins intact. The company says that the resulting protein—which it calls Protina—has a mild, smoky flavor and promising gelation properties.
This week, The Spoon got on Zoom with the Terra Bio team to learn more about its vision for Protina.
Meet Protina
In spent grain, Terra Bio saw an opportunity to create a more sustainable, plant-based protein. Protina requires no direct agricultural inputs as an upcycled ingredient, making it less land- and water-intensive than soy or pea protein.
Terra Bio doesn’t envision Protina as a stand-alone protein. Instead, it sees the ingredient as a textural base alongside other proteins.
“There’s no such thing as a perfect protein,” says company President and Co-Founder Ricardo Martinez, but Protina can add value by complementing other ingredients. “It can be used in combination with other more expensive or premium proteins, so you can reduce costs. And you can increase your product’s performance in terms of amino acids or textures.”
By taking advantage of different proteins’ unique properties, the team says, manufacturers could also simplify their products’ ingredients lists. For instance, Protina’s appealing texture could cut down on the need for additional texturizers.
To demonstrate the possibilities for Protina, Terra Bio is currently working with microalgae protein startup Smallfood and vegan chef Doug McNish to develop a plant-based fish fillet. The project was selected as one of 28 semifinalists for the XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion competition.
The spent grain supply chain
The team noted another upside of using spent grain: The breweries where the ingredient is generated are often located near food manufacturing plants. By taking advantage of an ingredient that can usually be sourced closeby to production facilities, the Protina manufacturing process can simplify the supply chain.
“That’s especially important as we’re in the middle of this COVID environment where supply chains are highly disrupted,” says CEO and Co-Founder Steve George. The COVID-19 pandemic has put global food supply chains under stress and driven up food prices. “So we said, what if we can shorten the supply chain. This accomplishes that.”
Because the bio-fractionation process can be performed using existing food processing equipment, Terra Bio plans to focus on building partnerships with contract manufacturers rather than constructing new production plants. The team says it sees these partnerships as a way to scale up production and leverage local supply chains while minimizing the environmental footprint of producing Protina.
Protina’s path forward
Terra Bio currently uses barley-rich spent grain mixtures to produce Protina, but the team is working on modifying the bio-fractionation process to accommodate more diverse feedstock. The company has also begun the process of getting food safety approval from Health Canada and the FDA.
As it takes steps to scale up its production process, Terra Bio is also seeking out new partnerships with breweries, food companies, and contract manufacturers. Through those partnerships, the company plans to continue taking on more capacity.
“We expect to be able to make those key partnerships in this coming year, and be able to start having protein and protein-based products out there come 2023,” says Rebecca Bradley, Terra Bio’s Outreach and Marketing Coordinator. “We expect to be able to scale a lot faster because we’re working together.”
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