Vegetable proteins: the five-crop strategy powering hybrid foods in 2026
Vegetable proteins are the structural backbone of every hybrid and plant-based product on the shelf. The strategic question for Europe is not whether to use them but which crops to back, and how to turn them into ingredients that perform at cost. For ingredient buyers, formulators, and policy watchers, the answer is concentration, not dispersion. This post sets out the case.
What are vegetable proteins?
Vegetable proteins are protein ingredients extracted from crops such as soy, pea, faba bean, wheat, and sunflower, supplied as flours, concentrates, isolates, or textured forms. They provide the structure, volume, and nutrition in hybrid and plant-based foods, replacing or extending animal protein while lowering cost and footprint.
The form decides the function. Flours are cheapest and most clean-label but least pure; isolates are highest in protein and most functional but most processed; textured proteins deliver the fibrous bite that meat formats need. Vegetable proteins are the most-developed input in the hybrid food ingredient toolkit, covered across the conference Innovation Plaza.
The five crops Europe should back
Europe's vegetable protein future rests on five crops: soy, pea, faba bean, sunflower, and oat. Concentrating innovation on these, rather than spreading it across many minor crops, builds the scale, breeding investment, and value chains needed to compete, according to the FoodConNext investment agenda.
The Plant-Based Opportunity (2026) makes this concentration argument explicitly, noting Europe relies on imports for 66% of its high-protein feed (European Commission, 2024) and that direct human consumption of plant protein avoids a conversion loss of more than 75% (Alexander et al., 2016). In compiling that report, the consistent message from ingredient houses was to concentrate the crop bets, not widen them. Plaza partners reflect this: Crespel & Deiters on wheat and pea, ADM on soy, and Cosun Beet Company on faba.
Concentrates, isolates, and textured proteins
The processing route defines cost, purity, and clean-label position. Concentrates balance protein content and cost; isolates maximise purity and functionality at higher cost and processing; textured proteins convert either into the fibrous structure meat-style formats need. Choosing the route is the central formulation decision for any vegetable protein.
Better functionality of pulse concentrates versus isolates is a named research priority in the FoodConNext innovation agenda (2026), because closing that gap lowers ingredient cost without sacrificing performance. Christopher Busch of Crespel & Deiters and Roland Snel of ADM address texturization and protein functionality directly in the conference programme.
The commercial and sovereignty case
Vegetable proteins are a competitiveness and food-security play, not only a sustainability one. Building European value chains for protein crops reduces import dependence, gives farmers higher-margin rotations, and keeps manufacturing value in the region as the US and China scale their sectors.
The European plant-based market sits near €2 billion against €450 billion for animal-based foods (Smart Protein, 2024), and R&I funding reached roughly €400 million across 2020–2024 (GFI, 2024), with the FoodConNext agenda projecting a €3 billion innovation need to 2035 (projection, The Plant-Based Opportunity, 2026). To partner on vegetable protein sourcing or innovation, contact FoodConNext or register.
Where vegetable proteins fit in hybrid and plant-based
Vegetable proteins serve both hybrid and plant-based products, but the job differs. In hybrids they extend an animal fraction, so masking and texture matter most; in plant-based they carry the whole product, so functionality and nutrition completeness matter most. The same crop, different formulation demands.
This shared role is why the conference treats vegetable proteins as common infrastructure rather than a hybrid-only or plant-based-only concern. EUVEPRO, the European Vegetable Protein Association, brings together suppliers including ADM, Beneo, Cargill, Cosun, dsm-firmenich, IFF, Ingredion, Kerry, and Roquette, several of whom are active at Hybrid Foods Europe.
Vegetable protein crops compared
The major European protein crops differ in functionality, cost, and clean-label appeal. The table sets them side by side so a sourcing decision can be made on function, not familiarity.
Crop | Strength | Functionality | Catch |
Soy | High protein, mature supply | Strong, versatile | Allergen, import reliance |
Pea | Clean label, allergen-friendly | Good, improving | Off-notes |
Faba bean | European-grown, rotation benefit | Moderate | Younger toolkit |
Wheat | Bind and chew | Strong for texture | Gluten labelling |
Sunflower | Side-stream valorisation | Emerging | Early-stage |
No single crop wins everywhere, which is why formulators blend them and why the five-crop focus matters. The full programme connects crop strategy to product application.
Take-home messages
Commercial:
Concentrating on five crops builds scale and value chains faster than spreading bets.
Vegetable proteins are a food-security and competitiveness play, not only sustainability.
European faba and sunflower reduce import dependence versus imported soy.
The same crop serves hybrid and plant-based, doubling its commercial relevance.
Technical:
Processing route (flour, concentrate, isolate, textured) defines cost and performance.
Closing the concentrate-versus-isolate functionality gap lowers ingredient cost.
Masking matters most in hybrids; nutrition completeness matters most in plant-based.
Texturization converts commodity protein into the bite meat formats need.
Verdict and next step
Vegetable proteins are the foundation the entire protein transition is built on, and Europe's choice to concentrate on five crops is the difference between a competitive sector and a fragmented one. The ingredient houses, formulators, and retailers who align on that strategy now will shape the value chains everyone else sources from. Hybrid Foods Europe in Amsterdam, 14–16 September 2026, puts them in one room with a hands-on Innovation Plaza spanning soy, pea, faba, wheat, and sunflower. The window to set the crop agenda is open. Register now and be part of it.
About the author Gerard Klein Essink is Founder and CEO of FoodConNext Foundation and author of The Plant-Based Opportunity (2026). For more than 20 years he has led an international plant-based foods and proteins community, published numerous industry reports, written innovation reports on proteins for the Dutch government, advised the Canadian government on its pulse strategy, and produced strategic outlook reports for Pulse Canada and the Australian Grains Research and Development Council. He co-chairs Hybrid Foods Europe in Amsterdam, 14–16 September 2026.
About FoodConNext Foundation At FoodConNext Foundation, we believe that the future of food lies at the intersection of innovation, sustainability, and global collaboration. Our foundation is dedicated to accelerating the transition toward more resilient and responsible food systems by connecting key stakeholders across the agri-food ecosystem.
Our Mission FoodConNext Foundation exists to bridge gaps in the global food system — bringing together entrepreneurs, researchers, policymakers, and investors to co-create solutions that address some of the world's most pressing challenges, including food security, sustainability, and nutrition.