Kerry acquires plant-protein company Pevesa Biotech

The Protein Works CMO Laura Keir is confident that vegan proteins are here to stay

Kerry, the taste and nutrition company, has announced that it has expanded its non-allergenic and organic plant protein capabilities by acquiring the Spanish company Pevesa Biotech. 

Pevesa Biotech specialises in non-allergenic, non-GMO products for the infant, general and clinical nutrition markets. Pevesa offer a range of proteins, including organic pea and rice protein and protein hydrolysates, and is said to be a European leader in non-allergenic plant proteins for infant nutrition. Pevesa has also developed a range of organic and standard biofertilisers for fruit, olive and specialist garden growers, and has had a strong corporate focus on developing sustainable solutions to important nutrition, health, biowaste and agricultural challenges.  

As consumers are being seen to reduce their consumption of dairy and soya, rice and pea protein have reportedly become two of the fastest-growing plant protein segments globally. The global plant proteins ingredient market is projected to grow at 6.6 percent per annum from 2018 to 2023. The organic rice protein market was estimated at $42 million in 2018; while the organic pea protein market was valued at $11 million in 2018.¹

“Kerry is extremely pleased to bring the global expertise of Pevesa into our leading plant protein portfolio,” said John Reilly, VP Business Development Proteins, Kerry. “Kerry was attracted to Pevesa because of its expertise, innovation, high-quality manufacturing leadership, and patented technology in the non-allergenic plant protein market. This will be a good fit with Kerry’s growing product portfolio, and Pevesa’s customers will benefit from the synergy between its market-leading technology and Kerry’s protein processing expertise.”

Reference 

1. Sources: DataM Intelligence, Global Plant Protein Market 2018-2025, MarketsandMarkets: Organic Rice Protein Market 2018, Markets and Markets: Organic Pea Protein Market 2018.