Precision innovation driving next-generation of proteins

Alternative proteins form the next wave of food innovation not only because they are vital to human nutrition, but because emerging technologies enable their discovery and production. At Beyond Progress to Evolution, the forum conducted by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and the Food Industry Research and Development Institute (FIRDI) on June 25, 2026, Mr. Andres Pascual Vidal, Director of Innovation, AINIA, gave a talk titled, Alternative Protein Innovation Through Precision Design and Applications.

AINIA is a Spanish technology center with over 25 years of experience in research, development, and innovation. They specialize in creating advanced technological solutions across the agri‑food, packaging, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and chemicals sectors. 

According to Mr. Vidal the next-generation of food products and ingredients are benefiting from developments in artificial intelligence and biotechnology.  He explained that disruptive technologies are opening new frontiers in protein development – the space called precision innovation where advanced digital tools are used effectively: to discover proteins in nature, to design tailor‑made proteins with specific functionalities, to manufacture them at scale, and to validate their benefits to human health through advanced in vitro methods.

Mr. Andres Pascual Vidal, Director of Innovation, AINIA delivers a presentation on Alternative Protein Innovation Through Precision Design and Applications at Beyond Progress to Evolution forum, one of the conferences at the Food Taipei Mega Shows held from June 24-27.

We need next-generation of proteins

Protein sources developed through advanced food science and biotechnology are known as next‑generation proteins, and they serve as alternatives to conventional animal products*. While digital technologies have made it possible to produce these proteins, what matters most is ensuring that the proteins created are truly effective and beneficial.

But why do we need them?

The demand for next‑generation proteins is rising as we confront urgent global challenges, Mr. Vidal said.

Sustainability is the first challenge. Climate change is reducing agricultural productivity, water shortages are widespread, and soils are over‑exploited. Improving efficiency in protein production has become essential.

The second challenge is new demographics. Many societies are now experiencing rapid aging, while birth rates are declining in some parts of the world. Older populations have specific protein requirements to support quality of life and healthy aging.

The third challenge is food security and resilience. Recent disruptions, from wars to pandemics, have revealed the vulnerability of global food supply chains.

These challenges are interconnected, making it critical to produce protein more efficiently — not only in greater quantity but with enhanced nutritional profiles and targeted functionalities that deliver health benefits, he said.

Precision innovation at work

The process involves discovery, design, validation, and application.

Digital technologies have made it easier to discover the proteins we want, allowing us to explore global biodiversity in ways that were previously impossible, Mr Vidal said. “Instead of searching among hundreds or thousands of known proteins, we can now scan millions.”

He compared it to physically shopping for clothes, where one can only visit a few stores. With digital technologies, however, one can browse every store simultaneously. “This is made possible by next‑generation sequencing, large biological datasets, and computational biology — an interdisciplinary field combining computer science, mathematics, and data analysis to model and understand biological systems.”

Discovery platforms can make this happen. For example, the U.S. company, Shiru focuses on identifying proteins with specific functional properties, while Nuritas specializes in discovering bioactive peptides linked to health benefits. These companies are building databases of millions of proteins and peptides, providing valuable resources for the new protein value chain, he said.

After discovery comes design. Design technologies help predict protein structure from their sequences. By understanding these structures, scientists can determine their functions and predict their performance. At this point, questions are raised as to the kind of protein needed, say one optimized for digestibility, texture, nutrition, stability, or processing efficiency? Beyond prediction, artificial intelligence can refine existing proteins by modifying fragments, or even generate entirely new proteins with tailored functionalities, Mr. Vidal explained.

The design objectives are adjustability, texture, stability, and reactivity, with AI acting as a co‑pilot, he said. However, digital design alone does not create a product. Synthetic biology translates digital designs into biological instructions, which are introduced into engineered microorganisms, plants, or cells that act as bio-factories.

Precision fermentation, which refers to the production process where specific biological molecules are manufactured using microorganisms, enables efficient, scalable production of these proteins. Success depends not only on design but also on competitive manufacturing, Mr. Vidal said.

In vitro models for validating proteins

Proteins are validated if they can deliver the intended benefit in the human body. According to Mr. Vidal, a protein may look promising in silico and even be manufactured successfully, but what matters is their impact on digestion, peptide release, microbiota interactions, and health outcomes.

While human trials are the gold standard, they can be slow and costly. Today, advanced in vitro models allow evaluation of digestion, absorption, and microbiota interactions before clinical studies, thus, accelerating innovation while reducing risk, he added. Therefore, in vitro models are becoming essential validation tools. According to Mr. Vidal, AINEA and FIRDI are collaborating to develop methodologies that help industries understand and apply these models.

Promising applications for next-generation proteins

The most promising applications are not commodity proteins but high‑value, low‑volume proteins with strong functionality or health benefits, Mr Vidal said. These include dairy proteins, whey proteins, calcium, and functional proteins such as albumin for foaming.

A key niche is active nutrition that includes sports performance, muscle maintenance, and recovery, alongside health areas such as metabolic health, gut health, and healthy aging. The first commercial opportunities lie in proteins for functionality, performance, and health benefits, which create the highest value, he added.

Perfect Day is among the first to bring alternative dairy proteins to market through its flagship ingredient, ProFerm™, an animal‑free whey protein identical to that found in milk. Produced via precision fermentation, it can be incorporated into ice cream, yogurt, beverages, cream, cheese, and high‑protein foods.

PVT also works with dairy proteins but takes a more targeted approach, focusing on sports nutrition, active lifestyle products, and high‑protein formulations where quality matters more than quantity. The EVERY Company emphasizes functionality. Its flagship product, OvoPro, is an animal‑free ovalbumin (the main protein in egg white) produced via precision fermentation. Ovalbumin provides foaming, emulsification, and textural benefits for bakery, confectionery, and prepared foods. Oobli focuses on sweet proteins such as brazzein and thaumatin, which are 100–1,000 times sweeter than sugar, offering calorie‑free sweetness. Moolec Science is a pioneer in molecular farming, engineering plants to produce animal proteins directly in crops such as soybeans and sunflowers. This approach offers scalability by using plants as bio-factories.

Mr Vidal also highlighted molecular farming in which plants are engineered to produce desired proteins. The company, Moolec Science encodes a desired protein into the plant, which produces the protein during growth. With this technology, Moolec aims to produce animal proteins directly in crops such as soybeans and sunflowers, he said. This approach is attractive for scaling: once the plant is engineered, it can be cultivated like any other crop, producing protein at scale, he said.

The bottleneck

Despite scientific advances, the road to scale is the most challenging for many reasons. As Mr. Vidal noted, science is no longer the bottleneck for proteins, but scaling and economics. He explained that fermentation capacity, downstream processing, and industrial expertise are critical to moving from lab to commercialization. Furthermore, these technologies must also compete with low‑cost commodity proteins, he said.

Regulatory approvals can take years, he said, while early applications of next-generation proteins still target niche markets where consumers are willing to pay a premium.

Scaling requires significant investment in fermentation infrastructure and processing expertise.

More importantly, consumer acceptance and trust are essential, he added. Biotechnology often requires transparency, communication, and reassurance to gain acceptance.

The bottom line

Whether it is precision fermentation or molecular farming, these technologies face regulatory and technical hurdles. But it demonstrates that multiple biological platforms — microorganisms, plants, and cell‑based systems — will all play a role in the future of proteins, Mr Vidal said.

Mr. Vidal’s message is simple: “the future of protein innovation will not depend on a single solution but on combining multiple technologies to deliver nutrition, health, and sustainability.”

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*Next-generation protein. https://news.sustainability-directory.com/news/next-generation-protein/