Stepping into the plant-based sector—and meeting the needs of elite athletes along the way

Consumer needs are evolving. As many look for products that are sustainable, nutritious and address their health concerns, companies across the value chain are developing new product recipes that exceed their expectations.

Meeting the diverse, often highly specialized nutrition needs of Canada’s elite athletes can be a challenge, but it’s one Gruppo Nutrition is proud to take on. The company’s history of offering high-quality protein products has earned them multiple partnerships, including with Cycling Canada as the organization’s Official Nutrition Supplier, and with Enhanced Medical Nutrition (EMN) in a Protein Industries Canada project to develop a new plant-based protein blend that each company can incorporate into its line of products.

While Gruppo’s partnership with Cycling Canada is just getting started, its work with EMN has already led to concrete results. Gruppo launched their first plant-based protein products in March 2022, with plans for others to follow in the coming months.

“I think the people that have used plant-based products haven’t had the same sensory experience that a whey isolate can offer,” said Gruppo CEO Darcy Haggith. “That will be changed with the work that we’ve done … Someone can, if they so desire, choose a plant-based protein and they’re not giving anything up. They don’t have to have a drink that doesn’t taste so good and is gritty. It tastes great and it does the job.”

Up to this point, Gruppo’s wide range of products have featured whey protein as their primary ingredient. The use of plant protein in their products—thanks to both their project with EMN and a new pea protein ingredient developed by Merit Functional Foods—has allowed Gruppo to expand their product offering, while meeting the nutritional needs of a new consumer base.

To ensure the products are suitable for all levels of athletes, Gruppo has developed several formulations. The one of most interest to organizations like Cycling Canada would be Elite Raw Plant. While similar to Gruppo’s non-Elite products, their Elite line of protein products is tested for banned substances and other protocols and regulations of the highest competitions, ensuring athletes who choose their products won’t be taking any risks by doing so.

Products under the Gruppo Pro label, meanwhile, allow athletes not in competition, but no less nutrition-minded, to build their own product. Using statistics such as their weight, workout time, and sodium and caffeine needs, athletes can design the product to suit their unique needs and wants.

“This plant-based option, it was a gap for us. We didn’t have this, and these were things our customers were asking us for,” Haggith said.

Adding these products to their retail shelves—both virtual and at their Windsor, Ont., location—has been a long-time coming for the Gruppo team. Primarily consuming plant-based products himself, Haggith has been searching for plant-based protein powders that taste and perform as well as their whey counterparts. While he’s found that in Gruppo’s new additions, adding them to the company’s product selection hasn’t come without its challenges.

One of the biggest has been related to access to a particular ingredient the company imports from the United States. Only available in large quantities, the ingredient is both expensive and necessary; to get the most of out of their investment into it, the Gruppo team has been looking at ways of lowering its use, while also working with the ingredient’s distributor to find a balance that works for each of them.

COVID-19, too, has played its role. After it delayed Gruppo’s access to the research lab at McMaster University, the company delayed its full product roll-out. As such, it’s waiting until August 2022 to introduce its Everyday Fuel Raw to the market—a plant-based product aimed at more casual athletes than those who’d look to consume either the Gruppo Pro or Elite products.

That said, Haggith is happy with the progress Gruppo has made in the plant-based product realm. His company’s partnerships with others, he said, were particularly helpful in getting Gruppo to where it is today—as was involvement in the Protein Industries Canada cluster as a whole.

“I don’t think that these things get done without this sort of support, or, if it does, it doesn’t happen to companies of our size,” Haggith said. “It kind of levels the playing field a little bit. Having the support that’s offered allows a company, or companies like EMN or Gruppo, where they’re in their initial growth phase, to be able to take on projects like this.”