Daiya Foods (Burnaby, BC), the top Canadian brand of plant-based cheese, launched new products in 2023 and 2024 that resulted from a partnership with University of Guelph researchers who use neutron beams. Prof. Alejandro Marangoni uses neutron beams to gain basic understanding of cheese’s structure and physical properties, that are responsible for the “mouth feel”—knowledge that is necessary for designing plant-based products.
Other companies in Israel and in Switzerland are licensing the technology developed with Daiya Foods. Rapid market adoption is expected.
Marangoni has developed another plant-based cheese product with Motif FoodWorks that is expected to hit the market this year.
With the plant-based food-market forecast to grow over 10% every year from 2024 to 2031, such research and innovation will continue to benefit the Canadian economy as well as promote health and sustainability.
