The latest news, trends, analysis, interviews and podcasts from the global food and beverage industry

New Zealand-based food-tech company Andfoods has announced the official launch of its dairy-free whipping cream, made from fermented black mung beans, now available to professional kitchens in Singapore.

The Andfoods Whip cream is designed to taste and feel like dairy, but made from entirely plant-derived ingredients.

It is created using a patented fermentation process that removes the black mung bean’s plant taste. The bean’s polysaccharides let the cream hold structure on its own, Andfoods said, resulting in a cream with improved frothing and stabilising capabilities compared with other plant materials.

While many plant-based cream products use oils and other additives to replicate dairy, Andfoods Whip is made without palm oil, hydrogenated fats or artificial ingredients.

According to the company, in benchmarking against 30 alternatives, the product was developed to match or outperform both dairy and plant-based creams in real kitchen conditions.

It can be used in beverages such as coffee with cold foam, in bakery items including profiteroles and chocolate ganache, and in desserts such as affogato, cheesecake and chocolate mousse. The cream has been formulated to perform better then dairy in humid conditions, built to retain its shape for longer and with no separation in heat.

The product has a shelf-life of 12 months. Once whipped, it produces 2.6 litres of usable product for every litre of liquid cream.

It is available to trade customers in Singapore, in Tetra Pak cartons, through foodservice distributor Lim Siang Huat.

Alex Devereux, CEO of Andfoods, said: “Chefs don't accept trade-offs on texture, taste or consistency, and they shouldn't have to when they go dairy-free”.

“Singapore is a market where performance gets tested quickly and visibly. It has a dense concentration of professional kitchens, bakeries and beverage businesses, and it's a gateway to the wider region. Lim Siang Huat gives us a direct route into those kitchens.”

Andfoods began at New Zealand’s Massey University in the Riddet Institute, where the team of food scientists aimed to create plant-based ingredients that could outperform dairy. The company benefits from New Zealand’s dairy expertise, while operating a manufacturing base in Shanghai, China, to support production and distribution as the company expands across Asia.