Benson Hill, Inc, a food tech company unlocking the natural genetic diversity of plants, recently announced the launch of TruVail, a new line of domestically sourced, non-GMO plant-based protein ingredients with unique sustainability benefits.
The TruVail brand’s initial offering includes high protein soy flour, a less processed equivalent to soy protein concentrate (SPC), and texturised proteins for broad use across traditional soy protein applications as well as rapidly growing alternative plant-based protein markets.
TruVail ingredients are sourced from Benson Hill’s proprietary Ultra-High Protein (UHP) soybeans, reducing the need for additional processing steps typically required to concentrate protein levels. The resulting less processed, value-added ingredient can serve as a more sustainable alternative to commodity soy protein concentrate (SPC) and can require up to 70% less water and up to 50% less CO2e to produce than SPC.
Benson Hill works with farmers to grow its identity preserved UHP soybean varieties with an emphasis on regenerative agriculture practices, enabling sustainability benefits from farm to fork.
“Better ingredients start with better beans. Whereas food manufacturers are usually relegated to use whatever limited ingredients the commodity system has to offer, TruVail ingredients are sourced from soybeans specifically designed with consumer interests in mind. With TruVail high protein ingredients, food companies can count on great taste, functionality, and quality while delivering more sustainable products with closed-loop traceability and less processing,” said Bruce Bennett, President of Benson Hill’s Ingredients Business.
Benson Hill combines seed innovation with closed loop farming and ingredient production to create an integrated supply chain model. This provides a single point of contact and improved transparency for CPG customers, unlocking novel benefits across an otherwise siloed food system. The ingredient manufacturing capabilities of the recently acquired Creston, IA facility complete the integrated model, enabling Benson Hill to immediately deliver a reliable supply of its TruVail portfolio for multiple food applications. This includes established markets for soy-based ingredients, such as snacks, baked goods, and meat extension as well as applications within the rapidly growing protein alternatives market for meat, dairy, frozen desserts, and other applications.
“The nutrient density advantage of TruVail ingredients offers food manufacturers a seamless solution for multiple product development needs,” said Kurt Long, VP, Proteins, Benson Hill. “Formulating with TruVail ingredients at lower inclusion rates creates the taste and texture consumers crave and can generate potential cost savings for various applications. Formulating with TruVail at higher rates can produce equally nutritious, animal-free products compatible with many manufacturers’ cleaner label programs. The application of TruVail ingredients as a less processed replacement for SPC delivers cost and environmental advantages while avoiding SPC supply constraints facing the rapidly expanding plant-based protein market.”
Benson Hill moves food forward with the CropOS platform, a cutting-edge food innovation engine that combines data science and machine learning with biology and genetics. Benson Hill empowers innovators to unlock nature’s genetic diversity from plant to plate, with the purpose of creating nutritious, great-tasting food and ingredient options that are both widely accessible and sustainable. More information can be found at or on Twitter at @bensonhillinc.
