© Nizo
Japanese food company Kikkoman will launch a new soy milk yogurt drink in Japan – the result of a partnership with Dutch-based food innovators Nizo.
The partnership brought together Kikkoman’s expertise with soy ingredients and soy fermentation, and Nizo’s knowledge of lactic acid bacteria technologies.
In particular, Kikkoman needed a lactic acid strain capable of fermenting soybean and providing great taste, and identified Nizo as a partner that could provide dairy-derived strains and support it with knowhow about natural selection techniques used to select strains of lactic acid that grow well on soybean and produce great flavour.
The Nizo strain collection contains strains isolated from a variety of food sources, and is particularly rich in strains that are suitable for dairy and other food fermentation.
As a result of the partnership, the two companies said, Kikkoman developed ‘a great tasting soy milk yogurt drink’ that will be ready to launch in the Japanese market next month.
Kikkoman applied for an international patent for the lactic acid strain, and the companies have concluded an exclusive licensing agreement for the Nizo-derived strains used in the fermentation.
They said they were ‘excited’ about the prospect of bringing the product to market.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024