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Pulse Flours—the fastest growing flour in the industry

10 September 20216 min reading

“In a relatively flat flour industry, the expected growth for pulse flours is thriving. Pulse Canada recently worked in collaboration with Euromonitor International to assess the market potential for pulse flours in packaged foods consumed in the US market. Where growth in the use of wheat and all other flours is minor, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR; 2020 to 2023) of pulse flours is predicted at 20.1%. This expected growth for pulse flours serves as an exciting opportunity for millers looking to expand their product offerings.”

Janelle Courcelles
Director of Quality & Processing
Pulse Canada 



As we enter a new decade and a new era of food, pulses are at the forefront of the industry due to their value as nutritious, sustainable, and functional foods. At Pulse Canada, our Market Innovation team is working closely with companies who are exploring the use of pulse ingredients because of their unique benefits. Pulse flours serve as an excellent source of protein (20-30%) and fibre (5-20%), providing substantial amounts of vitamins and minerals (including iron, potassium, magnesium zinc and folate) while being low in fat. Plus, because of pulse crops’ natural nitrogen-fixing properties and Canadian growers’ sustainable crop practices, companies can lean on Canadian pulses to build their sustainability claims as well. 

Consumers are more educated than ever on where their food comes from and how it’s made, and one of the ways manufacturers are meeting this demand is through the use of pulse flours. Up until recently, pulse flours mainly gained popularity through gluten-free applications, but as manufacturers aim to create more nutrient-dense products, pulse flours are getting recognized as a unique opportunity to make products more aligned with consumer wants and from ingredients they feel good about.


So it comes as no surprise that in a relatively flat flour industry, the expected growth for pulse flours is thriving. Pulse Canada recently worked in collaboration with Euromonitor International to assess the market potential for pulse flours in packaged foods consumed in the US market. Where growth in the use of wheat and all other flours is minor, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR; 2020 to 2023) of pulse flours is predicted at 20.1%. This expected growth for pulse flours serves as an exciting opportunity for millers looking to expand their product offerings. 

Pulse flours have been commercially milled for years using an array of techniques ranging from stone, hammer, pin and roller mills. Millers looking to take advantage of the growth in the industry have to consider the quality and consistency of their product—two aspects that are deeply affected by milling technology. Research conducted at the Canadian International Grains Institute (the technical division of Cereals Canada) published in Cereal Foods World journal demonstrated significant differences in the quality of yellow pea flours milled using hammer, stone and roller mill technologies. These differences are reflective of the mill’s distinct influence during the grinding process and translate into variability in particle size and composition, all of which have all been found to affect the end-use applicability of a flour. In order to successfully capitalize on pulse flour industry growth, the ability to consistently deliver on these quality attributes is key—with the mill itself not being the only factor to consider. 


In order to help millers better produce consistent quality flours, the Canadian pulse industry is investing in research to gain a deeper understanding of how crop type, variety, growing environment, pretreatments and the milling processes itself affects the properties of pulse flours. For example, Pulse Canada recently conducted a study in collaboration with IMPROVE SAS to evaluate the effects of a changing roller mill configuration on pea and lentil flour quality (results from this project are openly accessible and published in the Legume Science journal). By simply altering the length of mill flow and sieve used to collect flours, individual streams exhibited differences in terms of their physical and chemical characteristics that were significantly related to the functionality of each flour. In fact, trained sensory panelists were able to detect these differences when the flours were later incorporated into bread and noodles replacing simply 10% of wheat flour. This detectable difference in food incorporating these differentially milled flours speaks to the importance of consistency in the milling process. The better access manufacturers have to quality flours of specified characteristics, the more rapidly the industry will grow, and the easier it will be for millers to capitalize on the demand.

Right now, the biggest opportunity for pulse flour application include:

1. Bakery (CAGR 2020-2023 = 24%): pulse flours are a gluten-free, clean-label ingredient as an option in gluten-free baking but can also be used in traditional bakery at lower inclusion rates (5-20%) in order to boost the nutritional value of the finished product as well as the amount of protein that is eligible for a source-of-protein claim.  Any negative effects of pulse flour addition on dough rheological properties can be overcome by the addition of vital wheat gluten and/or dough conditioners. Pulses have been successfully incorporated into a range of bakery applications including biscuits, leavened breads, pastries, tortillas, flatbreads and more.

2.  Pasta (CAGR 2020-2023 = 18%): pasta is a rising category in which pulse flours perform particularly well. It follows that inclusion rates here are much higher ranging from 50-100%, where products are high in protein, fibre and nutrient dense.

3.  Processed Meats & Alternatives (CAGR 2020-2023 = 29%): pulse flours can serve as a binder to retain fat and moisture throughout the cooking process (~5% inclusion). Through the deactivation of the enzyme lipoxygenase, heat treated flours have also been found to contribute to colour stability in raw and frozen storage of ground meat products.

4. Extruded Snacks and Breakfast Cereals (CAGR 2020-2023 = 35% and 27%): similar to other starchy ingredients, pulse flours are able to expand under extruded conditions. Pulse flours serve as a really good tool to boost the nutritional value of these products (20-40% inclusion) as we are seeing more and more consumers demand healthy, nutritious snacks that still deliver on flavour. 

With a rise in plant-based protein and consumers looking for more sustainable ingredients, pulses are in a position to lead in innovation. Millers who invest in pulse flours early on will set themselves up to be a pillar in the industry’s growth. 

Pulse Canada works with companies from around the world and across the value chain to help them make the most of their pulse products. If processing pulse flours is something you’re interested in and want more information, get in touch with Janelle Courcelles at jcourcelles@pulsecanada.com or visit pulsecanada.com for more resources. 


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