Project HYPLEX Builds a Domestic Protein Value Chain for Innovative Hybrid Meat Products

A new innovation initiative developing next-generation hybrid meat products from Estonian protein-rich crops, HYPLEX, has been launched. The project brings together agricultural and food producers, research and innovation experts, and retail.

Running from March 2026 to November 2028, the project will build a science-based, industrially applicable value chain for Estonian faba beans, peas and oats. It aims to create higher-value use for domestic crops while responding to demand for affordable, nutritious, and more environmentally sustainable meat products.

Developing hybrid meat products from local plant proteins

“Hybrid meat products offer a practical way to combine familiar taste with improved nutritional value and a lower environmental impact. Our role at TFTAK is to understand the quality and functionality of raw materials and to develop processing technologies for plant-protein ingredients and food applications with the final product in mind. Our goal is to ensure that these solutions work not only in the laboratory, but also under real industrial conditions, while meeting consumer expectations,” said Sirli Rosenvald, R&D Director of Food Innovation at TFTAK.

Project HYPLEX aims to develop hybrid meat products that combine the strengths of both plant and animal proteins. The work includes selecting the most suitable Estonian varieties of faba bean, pea and oat; developing protein fractionation methods; and optimizing extrusion technologies to create a meat-like texture with plant proteins.

The resulting ingredients will be used in products such as pâtés, cutlets, sausages and snack sausages. The goal is to deliver products with familiar taste, affordable price, high nutritional value, and balanced protein composition.

Technologies will be developed and validated throughout the value chain, from crop variety selection to industrial production and market validation, to ensure that the solutions are practical, scalable and market-ready.

Creating higher value from Estonian crops

Although Estonia produces high-quality agricultural raw materials, faba beans, peas and oats are still often used in lower-value applications or exported without further processing. Project HYPLEX will develop higher-value food applications for these crops, reducing reliance on imported proteins and strengthening cooperation and competitiveness across Estonia’s food and agricultural sectors.

An end-product-driven approach to crop selection and processing will improve the functional and sensory performance of plant-protein ingredients. It can also reduce the need for additional ingredients and energy-intensive processing, supporting greater resource efficiency across the value chain.

For consumers, the project aims to offer familiar meat products with improved nutritional value and a lower environmental footprint. For industry partners, it creates opportunities to diversify product portfolios, respond to changing preferences and strengthen competitiveness in domestic and export markets.

Partners across the value chain

TVIK coordinates the project as a cross-value-chain innovation platform, supporting partner collaboration, knowledge transfer and the dissemination of results.

The partnership covers the full “farm-to-fork” value chain:

• Laekvere PM will cultivate selected crop varieties at scale, tailoring production to the requirements of food-grade protein processing.

• METK will contribute to crop assessment and field trials.

• TFTAK will lead the work on protein fractionation and extrusion, functional, sensory and nutritional evaluation, product development, packaging and shelf-life testing, and techno-economic and environmental analysis.

• Balsnack will support industrial-scale extrusion trials and the development of higher-value plant-protein extrudates.

• Nõo Lihatööstus and Lunden Food will validate hybrid meat products in industrial production.

• RIMI will support market and consumer validation ahead of potential market introduction.

From crop varieties to industrial prototypes

The project begins with assessing Estonian pea, faba bean and oat varieties for their chemical composition, protein quality and functional properties. The most promising varieties will be selected for field trials and larger-scale cultivation.

Next, the partners will develop protein fractions with suitable protein content, functionality and sensory characteristics. These ingredients will be tested in laboratory-scale extrusion trials, where processing conditions will be optimised to create textures suitable for hybrid meat products.

The most promising ingredients and extrusion solutions will then be validated at industrial scale and used to develop hybrid meat products’ prototypes. Packaging, shelf-life and consumer testing will support their industrial validation with the food-sector partners.

In the final phase, the project will assess the technical, economic and environmental performance of the developed solutions, including their footprint compared with conventional meat products.

A step forward for Estonia’s food system

HYPLEX represents a significant development step for Estonia’s food and agriculture sectors. By linking crop production, research, food processing and retail, it creates the conditions to turn domestic protein-rich crops into higher-value food ingredients and products.

In the long term, this kind of collaboration supports the wellbeing of people in Estonia and strengthens food security on several levels: by building more resilient local supply chains, reducing dependence on imported protein ingredients, supporting competitive domestic businesses and expanding access to nutritious, affordable and more sustainable food choices.

We thank PRIA and The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development for supporting this innovation project and enabling cross-sector cooperation to create higher-value, science-based food solutions from Estonian agricultural raw materials.