Passion for healthy soy food drives Devansoy

BY DALE MONSON
Elmer Schettler is passionate about creating healthy soy ingredients. “If you don’t have passion and believe in what you’re producing, there’s no reward,” says Schettler, founder and president of Devansoy, based in Carroll, Iowa.

Devansoy’s goal is “to promote healthy living through diets rich in soy protein.” To achieve that goal, Devansoy produces and supplies quality, non-GMO and organic soy ingredients, including soy flour and liquid and powder soy proteins.

Expanded to soy ingredients

Devansoy’s roots lie in the seed business. In the 1980s, Schettler owned a seed company called Diamond Brand Seed, which developed proprietary varieties of soybeans and sold them in the Upper Midwestern United States. During this time, Schettler became interested in developing and marketing soy food products. In 1988, he sold Diamond Brand Seed and began to develop a soy food retail business, selling Solait, a ready-to-drink powdered soymilk. Schettler founded Devansoy in 1991. The new company later sold the rights to Solait and moved exclusively into the wholesale ingredients market where today they produce and market only identity preserved, non-GM, and organic soy ingredients. “Our focus is on naturally processed soy which is non chemically extracted proteins and not chemically processed flours,” says Monty Kilburn, vice president market and sales. In 2003, Devansoy created the Benesoy brand name to identify its soy ingredients, which include liquid soy proteins, powdered soy proteins, and both full- and low-fat soy flour. Benesoy soy protein products, primarily used in non-dairy food applications such as soymilk, frozen desserts, and yogurt, have become Devansoy’s best-selling products. Benesoy soy flour is used in baked goods, such as breads, bagels, cakes, and cookies.
Devansoy uses a proprietary processing system to create a cleaner, whiter, and blander tasting product with a less “beany” taste. Devansoy products have a low flavor profile that won’t overpower foods with soy flavor, and the processing system results in a more consistent product that
is more stable in its applications.
Devansoy operates a dry processing plant for soy flour in Grinnell, Iowa. About five years ago, the company began processing liquid and soy powder proteins and since then has established a liquid production facility in Rock City, Illinois.

US and international markets

According to Kilburn, three factors drive demand for Devansoy’s products: booming demand for soy food products, the growth of the non-dairy food market, and the growth of organic foods. “We’ve been lucky enough that all of those categories have been growing at some of the higher growth rates in the grocery market for a long period of time,” says Kilburn. Companies that buy Devansoy’s products range from small entrepreneurial businesses to top 50 food companies. While natural and health food companies form the core of their business, conventional food manufacturers also make up a sizeable portion of their market. Although 90% of its market is US domestic, Devansoy is penetrating international markets. The company exports Benesoy ingredients to 17 countries, with most of that going to Europe. Devansoy’s strongest Asian market is Korea where it primarily markets soymilk. To date, Devansoy hasn’t faced any non-compliant issues related to GMOs with ingredients shipped to Korea, which requires labeling of GM foods and has a zero tolerance policy for GMOs in organics. “Whatever we’re doing is acceptable to those customers,” says Kilburn. He added that most of the products shipped to Korea are identity preserved, non- GMO and not organic. Devansoy has had discussions with South American countries as a result of concerns brought about by the fluctuation of milk pricing. “They’re looking for powdered beverage products to replace full-fat milk products,’ says Kilburn. Devansoy also markets its products to a cosmetic company for use in making moisturizers, lotions, and soaps for health and beauty applications

Opposite demands

The soy flour market is a volume-driven commodity market, dictated by cost. If someone wants a non-organic soy flour available from an ADM or Cargill, then Devansoy is not as competitive. But they are competitive if someone needs an organic ingredient. “Where organic is the identifying factor then it opens the door for us,” said Kilburn. The opposite is true with protein products, where the market is application-driven, and the customer is looking for quality as the end-result. Devansoy can compete in this market because its product is as good as or better than a chemically derived, conventionally produced product.

Organic certification, GMO issues

Devansoy is certified organic by CCOF, which monitors the systems in place for tracking and monitoring production, going back through the purchasing
of the beans to growing and harvesting. Devansoy uses two testing methods to test for the presence of GMOs. Incoming beans are tested using protein based strip tests from Envirologix. Finished products are then tested at Genetic ID, which uses a DNA-based PCR test. The tolerance for GMO material ranges depending on the needs of the customer, but the typical tolerance is 0.1%. Devansoy sources soybeans through brokers, mainly in the Iowa and in the Upper Midwest, who secure crop acreage. The brokers work with their growers to establish non- GMO requirements for their beans.
“We try to take as many steps up front to make sure nothing gets in the system to taint the process,” says Kilburn. “We’ve had to reject loads coming in, but we’ve been fortunate to never have it get through the system and then test positive for GMOs.”

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