Food ingredients Europe (Fi Europe) has named 25 finalists across eight categories for its 2026 Innovation Awards, including dairy solutions such as a cheese coagulant, a whey-based aged-cheese flavour and a whey protein drink, Food Ingredients First reports.
Key points:
- Fi Europe has named 25 Innovation Awards finalists across eight categories;
- a new alternative protein category joins the foodtech, health and sustainability awards;
- winners will be announced on 17 November in Frankfurt, Germany.
The shortlist includes the new Alternative Protein Innovation Award, which recognises ingredients and applications from plant, fungal, algal, microbial and insect sources.
Chosen from 133 entries, the finalists cover ingredient functionality, processing technology, health and sustainability. Winners will be revealed on Tuesday 17 November during Fi Europe, held on 17–19 November at Messe Frankfurt, Germany.
Here is an overview of the 2026 finalists.
Alternative protein
Bunge — PurePro soy protein concentrate: tackles off-flavours and dull colour in protein-enriched foods while keeping soy’s nutritional and functional benefits. It suits meat alternatives, bakery, cereals and snacks, giving manufacturers flexibility across categories.
dsm-firmenich — Vertis textured vegetable proteins (TVPs) with ModulaSense: textured pea proteins with taste modulation built in during extrusion to reduce bitterness and beany, earthy and cereal notes. This gives a more neutral base for plant-based and hybrid meat products and reduces the need for extra masking systems.
Lallemand Bio-Ingredients — Engevita HiPro Beyond: a yeast-derived ingredient with at least 80% protein for dairy alternatives, hybrid foods and specialised nutrition. Its neutral flavour and limited interaction with other ingredients allow protein enrichment without compromising taste or texture.
Dairy alternatives
KWS — Proteomex platform: combines plant breeding, genomics, food analytics and sensory evaluation to identify pea varieties suited to dairy alternatives, addressing off-flavours, colour and functionality right from the raw material stage.
Nourish Ingredients — Creamilux: a specialty lipid that delivers dairy-like creaminess, mouthfeel and functionality in plant-based and hybrid products. Effective at low inclusion levels, it targets applications where conventional alternatives struggle to mimic the sensory properties of milk fat.
Food manufacturing
Gopack — Flexivent block bottom bag: a polyethylene bag with a venting system that releases excess air while limiting the loss of fine powder. Designed for ingredients such as milk powder, cocoa, flour and protein powders, it improves compactness during palletising, storage and transport.
Spectral Blue — MWHI antimicrobial blue light: multi-wavelength, high-intensity (MWHI) blue light technology for continuous microbial control in food processing. The chemical-free system targets contamination on equipment and nearby surfaces, including areas where moisture and food residues encourage microbial growth.
Future foodtech
Arborea — BioSolar Leaf: a cultivation system that uses sunlight and carbon dioxide (CO₂) to grow microalgae for proteins and other functional ingredients. Its soil-free approach needs no fertile farmland and can produce food ingredients on otherwise unsuitable surfaces.
dsm-firmenich — Maxiren EVO: a fermentation-produced cheese coagulant that improves texture, melt, flavour development and processing flexibility. Its targeted action on casein also helps retain moisture and boost yield, improving production efficiency and cheese performance throughout shelf life.
Ferm Labs — precision artificial intelligence (AI) bioprocessing: a controlled fermentation platform that turns side-streams into functional flavour ingredients. Its flagship Kokumesan uses liquid whey to deliver an aged-cheese flavour, which the company says can reduce cheese inclusion and formulation costs.
MOA Foodtech — turning byproducts into functional ingredients: an AI-guided fermentation platform that converts agricultural and food industry side-streams into ingredients for food, feed and pet food, combining upcycling with the development of nutritional and functional properties.
Health
Botanic Healthcare — CornFit: a standardised extract of cornsilk, an underused agricultural byproduct, for metabolic health and weight management formulations, available for capsules, tablets, powders and liquid extracts.
FrieslandCampina Ingredients — Social Protein: an alcohol-free drink concept combining 10 g of whey protein with 5 g of prebiotic galacto-oligosaccharides. The light, refreshing format brings protein and fibre into social occasions, taking functional nutrition beyond typical shakes and sports drinks.
Wecare Probiotics — Weizmannia coagulans BC99: a spore-forming probiotic for sports nutrition and other health applications, with research covering protein absorption and digestive health. Its processing resilience allows use in formats such as meal replacement powders and functional gummies.
Pet food and nutrition
ADM — Priome Oral Care postbiotic: a heat-treated microbial ingredient supporting canine oral health, including plaque management and oral microbiome balance. Based on Lactiplantibacillus plantarum CECT 9161, it has been tested in a controlled feeding trial with adult dogs.
Bene Meat Technologies — Coolty Meat: a complete wet dog food launched by Forza10 using cultivated meat from BeneMeat, bringing cultivated protein into commercial pet food with a recipe aimed especially at dogs with food intolerances.
Beneo — BeneoFeed FB P60: a faba bean protein concentrate with binding properties that can partly or fully replace animal blood plasma in wet pet food. Technical trials suggest it can maintain texture while cutting recipe costs and increasing plant-based content.
Plant-based innovation
Botanic Healthcare — Guarsol: a water-soluble dietary fibre from partially hydrolysed guar gum for beverages and other functional formulations. The shortlisted application focuses on its use in liposomal systems to support particle size, dispersibility and stability.
GNT — spirulina stabilisation technology: helps natural blue colours withstand beverage acidity, heat processing and storage by tackling the instability of spirulina’s phycocyanin pigment, expanding options for manufacturers seeking alternatives to synthetic blues.
Roquette — product to be announced: Roquette has been shortlisted for a plant-based innovation whose name and technical details have not yet been disclosed; more information is expected before the awards.
Zentis — thermostable popping bobas: liquid-filled pearls that stay intact when mixed into muffin or cupcake batter and baked, adding bursts of flavour and contrasting texture to sweet and savoury bakery products.
Sustainability
Beyond Oil — frying oil treatment technology: a food-grade filter powder that reduces compounds formed as frying oil degrades, maintaining oil quality and extending its usable life. It aims to cut oil consumption and waste and works with existing filtration systems.
Lipsa — sustainable coconut oil project: a responsible sourcing initiative covering traceability, farmer development and environmental and social practices in coconut supply chains, including work with origin partners and verification under the Sustainable Coconut Charter’s Supply Chain Standard.
Roquette — transport decarbonisation: a logistics initiative combining lower-emission transport, load optimisation and carrier partnerships with verified emissions calculations. Customer carbon scorecards show delivery-related emissions, helping manufacturers measure and manage their Scope 3 (indirect value chain) footprint.
Tereos — Cultivate Net Zero: an offer combining lower-carbon ingredients, tailored carbon performance management and regenerative agriculture partnerships, linking farming practices with industrial decarbonisation to cut the footprint of ingredients such as sugars, alcohols and starches.
Source: Food Ingredients First
