Consumer interest in higher-protein beverages for general wellness, weight management and performance nutrition have made the addition of soy to beverages attractive from a consumer-marketing standpoint.
Different beverage systems have different functional requirements that soy proteins must meet to deliver against consumer expectations for flavor, mouthfeel and nutrition. Thus, different soy proteins designed for beverage applications will display different functional characteristics, depending on the end beverage application. Manufacturers are using whole soybean extract, soy flour, soy protein concentrate (>70% protein), high-solubility soy protein concentrate (>80% protein) and isolated soy protein (>90% protein, ISP) as key products i-n formulating beverages, where they are useful at improving viscosity, emulsion capability, foaming and solubility.