Raising a Toast
PROTEIN POWER REIGNING
THE BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
By : PRASHANT SAHNI - PhD Scholar, Department of Food Science
and Technology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
P
roteins are an
indispensable part
of our life, beginning
from the consumption of a
variety of bread to relishing
the ‘sunny side up’ on Sunday
mornings. However, the
changing lifestyle with the
hustle and bustle of hectic
office hours and maintaining
work-life balance has
acted as a major driving
force for the rise in the
consumption of convenience
foods. A popular juice brand
questions the consumers
in an advertisement that
“between work and nutrition
who will win?” and end up
s u g g e s t i n g t h e p o w e r-
packed juice to replenish
the nutrients in the diet.
Beverages have travelled
a long journey from just
being a fizzy drink gracing
birthday parties to nearly
becoming a meal replacer.
With the advent of changing
trends of healthy eating and
emergence of a breed of
health-savvy consumers;
protein presents sunrise
venture in the beverage
industry and versatile
application in infant, geriatric
and sports nutrition. It
is now becoming a part
of the wholesome meal.
Protein with its huge market
potential has emerged out
as a most sought-after
ingredient in the beverage
formulations and being
extensively studied by the
research fraternity in the
beverage industry. Also,
there is a paradigm shift in
the consumption patterns,
where a huge number of
cosmopolitan consumers
are shifting towards easy
nutrition to keep protein
balance in check. Ready-
to -drink (RTD) protein
beverages offer convenience
to the consumers as it does
not require any preparation
and thus makes it quite handy
and easy for consumption.
preservation and well-
toned body
”
Technological
Considerations in
Protein Beverages
No matter how fancy the idea
of protein beverage seems at
marketing and consumption
levels; the formulation of
beverage at R&D level
can be a quite challenging
and equally daunting task
while its implementation
at production and scaling
up operations. Proteins
are interesting creations
of nature exhibiting maze
of complexities within
these biomolecules. So, the
formulation of protein-rich
beverage not only takes into
consideration the nutritive
all it takes is 2 hours
“ So,
of workout and just 5
minutes to replenish all the
protein power for youth
Drink Asia
24
March-April 2019
aspect of the protein but
also the delicate nature of
a protein that affects its
functionality in the beverage.
Food property like pH of
food, its various constituents
like salts, surfactants, gums,
water, and the treatments
given to food tend to
alter its functionality. All