Fi Europe, the world’s largest food and beverage ingredients show, has announced the winners of its ­coveted Innovation Awards for 2017. A true barometer of food and beverage trends, these awards honour research teams and product developers for their outstanding innovations and ­invaluable contributions to the industry. Mirroring the market, protein solutions featured high on the winners’ podium this year. More hotly contested than ever before, the 2017 awards were presented at a festive ceremony.

There were ten Fi Europe Innovation Awards categories, plus two Start-up Innovation Challenge categories. A total of 17 companies were short­listed in the Fi Europe Innovation Awards and a further ten in the Start-up Innovation Challenge.

One of the winners is IOI Loders Croklaan. The pioneering oils pro­ducer received the Sustainability Champion Award for its sustainable and transparent supply chain strategy for palm oil. The Growth Categories ­Innovation Award was won by Erie Foods Inter­national for its low-fat milk protein crisps. Containing 90 % protein, these can be consumed as they are or used as an ingredient in bars and breakfast cereals.

The Best Innovation Award went to Chromologics, a biotech company spun out from the Technical Univer­sity of Denmark. Its first product is ChromoRed, a water-soluble, natural red pigment produced from a proprietary non-GMO fungal strain.

Amongst the winners of Start-up Innovation Challenge is the Swiss start-up Alver. It received the Best Natural Ingredient Award for Golden Chlorella, a protein-rich, nutrient-dense sustainable micro-algae.