Puratos – Mimetic: a sustainable alternative to dairy fats

As a responsible food company with a commitment to have a positive impact on the health and well-being of society and the environment, Puratos actively promotes sustainability throughout the entire value chain. We aim to provide products and solutions with the best nutritional and environmental value possible both good for people and the planet.

In response to a growing consumer concern for animal welfare and demand for plant-based alternatives (link to findings of Taste Tomorrow survey), bakers increasingly source more sustainable products in an effort to reduce their environmental impact. In this context, Puratos has introduced the Plant Forward initiative. Plant Forward inspires our customers to create delicious baked goods by replacing eggs, butter and other dairy ingredients with plant-based alternatives so that customers and consumers can experience the joy of doing good without compromising on taste, texture, quality or safety.

Aligned with its Plant Forward initiative, Puratos is proud to present Mimetic, a plant-based alternative to butter. Mimetic is a plant-based fat (for lamination and incorporation applications) providing outstanding melting and freshness sensation in baked goods. It provides great tolerance and plasticity as well as significant cost reduction.
Mimetic is suitable for vegetarian diets as well as plant-based diets.

Furthermore, we will demonstrate here below that Mimetic RSPO[1] helps decreasing the impact of food production on the planet!

To assess and analyse precisely and objectively the environmental footprint of Mimetic RSPO versus butter, Puratos entrusted a detailed study to an external third party, the company YuKan, specialist in analysing the environmental performance of products making use of their global environmental impact assessment tool called Glimpact. The study was carried out using the PEF method (Product Environmental Footprint), designed and adopted by the EC as the reference method for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies. The PEF method defines the environmental footprint of products through the measurement of 16 impact categories, including climate change, water scarcity, land use, and numerous other aspects, covering all the main impacts of human activity on the planet, through all the stages of the product life cycle, from raw materials to end of life.

This PEF method allows a score to be calculated that is expressed in micro points, making it possible to objectively and rigorously compare the impact of products within the same product category, meaning concretely the products for which the same product category rules (PEFCR) are used for calculation of their environmental impact.

Data has been gathered from the entire value chain of Mimetic (LCA, Life Cycle Assessment): from sourcing of raw materials, to processing, packaging, transport, usage by customers, and finally to the product’s and packaging’s end of life. All these specific activity data were introduced into the PEF analysis to calculate the Mimetic score, precisely measuring its overall impact and comparing it to that of butter, using the same PEF method and international database. Such a rigorous approach has led to robust data.

To be exact: a 3 times lower environmental impact when using Mimetic!
The LCA study conducted on Mimetic vs. butter indicates that Mimetic has a score of 276upts/kg versus 803 upts/kg butter.

The most impacting life cycle stage for Mimetic is ingredient production (87%) widely before distribution (10%) and manufacturing (2%). On butter, there is a similar split between impact factors (95% ingredient production, 3% distribution and 1,25% manufacturing).

Main differences between butter and Mimetic are related to:

• CO₂ and methane emission (climate change) : accounts for 51% (140µpts) of Mimetic impact, whilst accounting for 36% (292µpts) of butter impact. For each kg of Mimetic there is 4,89 kg of CO₂ emission generated, which is almost 2 times lower compared to butter (10,22 kg CO₂/kg). Therefore, Mimetic can help producers reduce their CO₂ impact in a very impactful way.
• Land use: Production of 1Kg of Mimetic is generating a land occupation and land conversion of 314 points, whilst production of 1kg of butter is generating a land impact of 1015 points, being more than 3 times more compared to Mimetic. This impact factor is not only calculating the land surface occupied by  the production of these goods, but take also into account impact factors like soil quality, duration of occupation and land transformation.
• Water usage : To produce 1Kg of Mimetic, 0,23 m³ (world equivalents) of water is used, whilst to produce 1Kg of butter, 1,91 m³ (world equivalents) of water is consumed, 8 times more compared to Mimetic. 

The PEF method allows to understand the main impact factors ("hot spots"), and therefore to prioritize the actions to be taken to effectively reduce one’s footprint. The detailing on palm oil environmental impact showed a difference between RSPO and non-RSPO palm oil. Despite the fact the total environmental footprint (combination of all 16 impact factors) of RSPO certified palm oil is at this time more or less equal compared to non-certified palm oil, the climate change impact (CO₂ and methane emissions) is almost half with RSPO certified palm oil compared to non-certified conventional palm oil (-45%). These numbers are supporting Puratos’ fierce conviction and commitment to continuously increase the share of RSPO palm into our products (on which you can read more here).

As companies and consumers increasingly look to make the planet a more sustainable place to live, there is a growing shift to plant-based products that can significantly reduce overall environmental impact including emissions of greenhouse gases. Mimetic reduces the footprint and cost while delivering the more indulgent experience.
A win for the planet – a win for you.

[1] Today's Mimetic sales worldwide are 100% sustainable, by using a combination of the SG, MB and B&C supply chains models.