In partnership with chef Greg Baxtrom and his New York City restaurant Olmsted, Finnish food company Solar Foods has unveiled its Solein protein, which was discovered in nature and is produced with air and electricity.
The company said this results in one of the most sustainable, nutritious and adaptable food ingredients ever discovered.
Solein is a nutritious protein-rich powder, made up of a single-cell organism grown with carbon dioxide and hydrogen, completely independent of land use and agriculture. Taking the form of a flour-like powder, the protein can be used as a nutritional ingredient in everything from pasta to beverages, as it blends into both savory and sweet foods. Solein can be used to replace existing proteins in a variety of foods, for example in alternative dairy and meat, or in different snacks and beverages, noodles and pasta, breads and spreads. With its mild, umami flavor, Solein also enriches and deepens the natural character of different foods and products. It is composed of 75% protein, along with dietary fibres, unsaturated fats, minerals and vitamins including iron and B12.
Solein requires only renewable energy, airborne materials, and a small amount of minerals – the same ones a plant would take with its roots from the soil. As the first ever food ingredient at this production scale, whose production is disconnected from the limits of traditional agriculture, Solar Foods said Solein has the potential to transform food and where food can be produced.
Solein’s US debut
At his restaurant Olmsted, Baxtrom has incorporated Solein into a four-course menu. Baxtrom has replaced traditional dairy products, as well as egg yolk, with Solein,to showcase how Solein can make foods more sustainable and nutritious.
“Sustainability has always been a core value for us at Olmsted,” Baxtrom said.
“When Solar Foods approached us to partner with them to be the first to launch Solein, we were excited. Our mission is very much aligned as we both look to the future of food.”
Solar Foods first unveiled Solein in Singapore last year. The first consumer products containing Solein were launched in 2024, including a Taste the Future Snack Bar by the Finnish food company Fazer, and Mooncakes by the Japanese food giant Ajinomoto. Solar Foods was selected by NASA as the international category winner of its Deep Space Food Challenge. Solein has also obtained GRAS status (Generally Recognized as Safe) in the US.
