In 2022, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) granted regulatory approval to Solar Foods’ Solein, a revolutionary protein produced from CO2, air, and electricity. Less than a year later, the Solein Chocolate Gelato entered the market, marking its official debut within the confectionery category. Now, Solar Foods is expanding its presence in the snacks sector through a collaboration with Finnish FMCG company Fazer.
The limited-edition ‘Fazer Taste the Future, powered by Solein’ bar is now available at selected The Cocoa Trees confectionery stores in Singapore. This collaboration aims to gather ‘valuable customer feedback’ on the ingredient’s viability in a new product category and evaluate consumer acceptance of the novel ingredient, as explained by CEO Pasi Vainikka.
Solein, hailed as the world’s most sustainable protein, is completely decoupled from photosynthesis and agriculture production. Leveraging a bioprocess that involves feeding microbes with gases and small amounts of nutrients, this protein is made from CO2, air, and electricity. The protein is considered a complete protein and contains all nine essential amino acids, with a high protein content and valuable micronutrients like iron and B vitamins.
In collaboration with The Lo & Behold Group-owned Fico, Solar Foods demonstrated the use of Solein in alternative dairy with the development of Solein Chocolate Gelato. Now, partnering with Fazer, Solein is also being utilized to increase the protein content in the snacking category.
The ‘Taste the Future’ bars, made with 2% Solein protein and a mix of high-quality ingredients, such as dark chocolate solids, dried strawberries, hazelnut, and Nordic oat puffs, are handmade and have a mission of introducing the revolutionary protein to new consumer groups.
Both Solar Foods and Fazer are collecting consumer feedback for potential wider launches of products featuring Solein. Solar Foods aims to achieve novel food approval from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) by the end of next year, while aiming for a wider scale European launch in 2025-2026. In the meantime, Solar Foods is working on Factory 01 in Vantaa, Finland, their first commercial production facility, which is set to begin operations in H1 2024 to scale the company’s production volume up to 160 tonnes annually.
