What if plant-based foods were no longer confined to the healthy aisles of supermarkets? The arrival of the first plant-based 100% oral nutritional drink for malnourished patients marks a turning point. With the launch of Fortimel PlantBased Energy, Nutricia (Danone) is doing more than just introducing a new product: it is initiating a strategic shift in a sector long dominated by animal proteins. A development that is also of interest to food ingredients professionals.
A plant trend that's spreading to new areas
The dietary transition is no longer simply a matter of marketing positioning: it is now a structural transformation of practices, even in the most standardised sectors such as clinical nutrition. Historically based on dairy protein-based formulas, medical nutrition is evolving to incorporate vegetarian, vegan and flexitarian diets, as well as to respond to the growing constraints associated with intolerances or allergies. allergies (lactose, gluten, cow's milk proteins).
This development is based on solid scientific data. A meta-analysis of 35 clinical studies showed that pea and soya isolates have similar effects to animal proteins on body weight, muscle mass and physical strength in patients at risk of undernutrition.
In other words, plant proteins are no longer a compromise solution: they are becoming a credible therapeutic alternative.
Undernutrition: a massive and persistent challenge
Illness-related undernutrition remains an invisible and largely underestimated reality in Europe. In Belgium, for example :
- 1 in 10 hospital patients is already malnourished.
- 1 in 4 is considered to be at risk.
- In the elderly, the rate rises to 40 %, and up to 80 % in cancer patients.
These figures, drawn from local and hospital studies, reflect a systemic problem with well-documented consequences: longer hospital stays, increased complications, loss of independence and a higher risk of relapse. Faced with this situation, nutritional solutions need to be diversified, better tolerated and more readily accepted.
Fortimel PlantBased: a weak signal that speaks volumes
This is the background to the launch of Fortimel PlantBased Energy, an oral nutritional drink 100 % plant designed for patients suffering from malnutrition. Available in Belgium since the beginning of 2025, this product is distinguished by :
- a high energy content (300 kcal per 200 ml),
- 12 g of vegetable protein (peas and soya) with a complete profile (PDCAAS = 1),
- a lactose-free, gluten-free and animal protein-free formulation.
- Two flavours have been developed to encourage sensory acceptance: Mango-Passion and Mocha.
But it is above all its positioning that raises questions. For the first time, a major player in clinical nutrition has fully assumed its role as a leader in the field. a plant-based approach as an integrated response, not as a marginal variant. A study conducted in the UK showed that Fortimel PlantBased Energy significantly increases nutritional intake, is well tolerated and has an adherence rate of 94 % after four weeks of consumption.
A development that could reshuffle the cards
This trend is not limited to Danone/Nutricia. It reflects a fundamental shift in the sector as a whole, with implications at several levels:
- Patients are demanding solutions that are compatible with their convictions and constraints.
- For prescribers, who have to adapt to increasingly personalised diets, while ensuring clinical efficacy.
- For manufacturers, who have to review their formulation bases, protein matrices and regulatory validation processes.
For ingredient suppliers, this shift opens up new prospects:
| Issues | Opportunities |
| Functional plant proteins | Developing BCAA-rich ingredients that are digestible, stable and clinically validated |
| Sensory acceptability | Working on flavour, texture and overall organoleptic profile |
| Regulations | Adapting solutions to the requirements of medical products (FSMP, nutritional claims, traceability) |
What this says about the future of specialised nutrition
The introduction of a plant-based offer in a field as codified as medical nutrition reveals a growing porosity between two worlds: that of healthcare and that of everyday food.
By 2030, we can anticipate :
- More and more plant-based, fermented and clean-label formulas...
- Increasingly personalised nutrition, integrating microbiota, genotype and food cultures
- More stringent requirements in terms of environmental impact and traceability of sources
This development is reshaping the roadmap for nutrition brands, but also for upstream players: producers of alternative proteins, flavour designers, suppliers of prebiotics or plant vitamins.
Conclusion: the time for transformation has come
The use of plants in medical nutrition is no longer taboo, or anecdotal. It reflects a transition that is gathering pace, driven by multiple expectations: clinical, societal and environmental.
For players in the food ingredients sector, it's an invitation to anticipate, co-develop and innovate differently.
Tomorrow's specialised nutrition will be more inclusive, more diversified and, no doubt, more plant-based.
Would you like to better understand how to meet these new formulation needs? Contact us: together, we can shape the specialised nutrition of tomorrow.
Sources :
Danone Nutricia - Fortimel PlantBased Energy: a plant-based alternative for disease-related undernutrition, published on danone-hub-room.prezly.com