High Moisture Extrusion Patents: Top Companies & Trends 2026
- 40.7% concentration at the top. The five leading assignees hold 386 of the 948 records in scope, a dense claim position around cooling die and screw configuration work.
- Filings cooled after a 2022 peak. Volume ran from 106 records in 2021 to 65 in 2024, a 39% pull-back over that span, before the still-incomplete 2025-26 window.
- A23J dominates but B29C and C12N sit underneath. 75.8% of records touch protein/peptide claims (A23J), while shaping-of-plastics (B29C, 9.5%) and microorganism (C12N, 7.7%) classes mark the mechanical and biological edges of the field.
Filing growth compares 2021 (106 records) with 2024 (65) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 948 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
High moisture extrusion (HME) turns isolated plant proteins into fibrous, meat-like structures by combining heat, shear and controlled moisture inside a twin-screw extruder, then setting that structure in a cooling die. The patent activity in this dataset clusters around three mechanical levers — screw configuration, cooling die geometry and moisture content control — plus the underlying protein chemistry that determines whether a given isolate denatures into a usable fibrous matrix at all.
The 948 records in scope span 2015 through the partial 2026 year, drawn from filings that name high moisture extrusion or plant protein texturization alongside cooling die, fibrous structure, screw configuration, protein denaturation, moisture content or anisotropy index. Because publication trails filing by roughly 18 months, the last one to two years understate true filing activity.
Filing trend and technology mix
Two views of the same 948-record dataset: how filing volume moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses the claims actually sit in.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Annual filings rose from 13 records in 2017 to a peak of 169 in 2022, then eased to 65 in 2024 — a 39% decline across the 2021-2024 span. 2025 and 2026 are still filling in as later-filed applications publish, so read the tail as incomplete rather than as a genuine drop in interest.
IPC subclass composition
A23J (proteins and food peptides) touches 75.8% of the 948 records and A23L (foods and beverages) 56.1%, confirming this is primarily a food-composition field. A23P (food shaping, 33.0%) and B29C (plastics shaping, 9.5%) mark the extrusion-hardware side, while C12N (microorganisms, 7.7%) and A23K (animal feed, 13.6%) show smaller but distinct adjacent branches. Records can carry more than one class, so these shares sum past 100%.
Shares are the percentage of the 948 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on High Moisture Extrusion of Plant Protein with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about high moisture extrusion of plant protein and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative filing and most-cited prior art
Adjustable Height Cooling Die for High Moisture Extrusion Food Processing Including an Automatic Feedback Loop
A system for high moisture extrusion (HME) food processing using an adjustable height cooling die including an automatic dynamic HME feedback loop. The HME system includes adjustable input parameters that control resulting output conditions via a feeding system, a barrel with at least one screw, and the adjustable cooling die itself, with an electronic sensor system tied into a closed feedback loop.Filed by The Livekindly Company Switzerland GmbH, published 2022-06-30. This is one of the more mechanically specific claims in the dataset: it ties die geometry adjustment directly to sensor feedback rather than to a fixed die profile.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20120093994A1 | Meat Analog Compositions and Process | 160 |
| 2 | US5922392A | Textured proteic fiber matrix with included solid, liquid or gaseous particles | 123 |
| 3 | WO2020152689A1 | Meat analogues and methods of producing the same | 103 |
| 4 | US6635301B1 | Method and apparatus for the manufacture of meat | 98 |
| 5 | US20080248167A1 | Processed Meat Products Comprising Structured Protein Products | 96 |
| 6 | WO2000069276A1 | Method and apparatus for the manufacture of meat | 92 |
| 7 | US20080233244A1 | Animal food compositions and treats | 90 |
| 8 | US20080254168A1 | Dried Food Compositions | 89 |
| 9 | US20080268112A1 | Ground Meat and Meat Analog Compositions Having Improved Nutritional Properties | 87 |
| 10 | US20070269567A1 | Protein Composition and Its Use in Restructured Meat | 80 |
Citation counts favour older filings that have had more time to accumulate citations within this corpus; treat them as a signal of influence on the field, not of current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers say about where the field stands
Three findings shape how a new entrant should read this landscape: where the claim density already sits, how the growth curve actually moved, and where receiving-office activity points to enforcement priorities.
The top of the field is dense, not crowded overall
Five assignees account for 386 of the 948 records in scope, but the ranking runs 100 companies deep with a long tail below tenth place (20 records). That combination means the core cooling-die and screw-configuration claims are well staked, while adjacent process variations remain open to a wider set of filers.
Peak passed in 2022, but the tail is not evidence of decline
Filings rose from 13 in 2017 to a peak of 169 in 2022, then fell to 65 by 2024. That 2021-2024 change is real and complete data; 2025 and 2026 figures are still filling in as later filings publish, so they should not be read as a continuation of the fall.
Protein chemistry, not machinery, carries the claim volume
Three-quarters of records sit in A23J (proteins and peptides), and over half also touch A23L (foods and beverages). The mechanical side — B29C shaping of plastics at 9.5% — is a comparatively narrow slice, suggesting composition and process-parameter claims outnumber pure equipment claims.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to high moisture extrusion of plant protein, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who holds the ground, and where it opens up
The ranked leaders span large food conglomerates, dedicated meat-analogue developers and ingredient suppliers. Momentum has cooled across several of the most active recent filers, which is consistent with the post-2022 volume pull-back rather than any single company retreating from the space.
A single filer holds a clear lead
The top-ranked assignee's 116 records sit well above fifth place (38) and tenth place (20), giving it the deepest single claim position on core HME process and cooling die variations in this dataset.
Depth below the leaders is real
The ranking runs a full 100 companies deep, and combined with the top 10 reaching only 55.0% of all 948 records, more than four in ten records in scope belong to filers outside the ten most active assignees.
Recent-year activity has slowed across several leaders
Multiple assignees that were active in prior years show zero filings in the latest year, with some registering a full -100% year-over-year drop. Given the 18-month publication lag, this reads as a reporting gap for the newest filings more than a genuine retreat.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Redefine Meat Ltd | 1 | 0% |
| Solae LLC | 0 | — |
| Mars Inc | 0 | — |
| Planted Foods AG | 0 | -100% |
| Air Protein Inc | 0 | -100% |
| General Mills Inc | 0 | — |
| Societe des Produits Nestle SA | 0 | -100% |
| PROFORM INNOVATION PTY LTD | 0 | — |
Where to take this next
The dataset points to a field with a settled core and open edges. Two directions make sense for a team deciding where to spend freedom-to-operate work.
Map the cooling die claim boundary precisely
With cooling die geometry and feedback-loop control concentrated among a handful of assignees, a claims chart against the representative filing and its closest citing records will show exactly how much design freedom remains around die adjustment mechanisms.
Explore cooling die claims in EurekaWatch the microorganism and dairy-blend overlaps
C12N and A23C overlaps sit far below the core protein/peptide claim density, and that gap is more likely to reflect open ground than lack of technical relevance. Tracking new filings in these overlaps early could flag emerging competitive moves before they consolidate.
Track adjacent filings in EurekaCommon questions about this landscape
One assignee leads clearly with 116 records, well ahead of the rest of the ranked field where fifth place holds 38 and tenth place holds 20. The top five assignees combined account for 40.7% of all 948 records in scope, so while the leader is dominant, the next tier drops off quickly. The ranking itself runs 100 companies deep, meaning there is a substantial group of filers outside the concentrated top ten.
Filing volume peaked in 2022 at 169 records and fell to 65 by 2024, a 39% decline over that three-year span using complete data. Figures for 2025 and 2026 are still incomplete because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so the apparent tail-off should not be read as the field cooling further. The honest read is that growth crested in 2022 and settled to a lower but still active pace through 2024.
Cooling die claims in this dataset, such as the representative 2022 filing from The Livekindly Company Switzerland GmbH, typically cover the physical geometry of the die that sets the fibrous structure as protein mass exits the extruder barrel, often paired with sensor feedback that adjusts die height or shape in response to output conditions. That combination of geometry plus closed-loop control is more specific than a simple fixed-die shape claim. Anyone designing a new cooling die should check whether their feedback mechanism, not just the die shape, overlaps with existing claims.
A23J (proteins and food peptides) covers 75.8% of the 948 records in scope and is the dominant class, followed by A23L (foods and non-alcoholic beverages) at 56.1%. A23P (food shaping and forming), at 33.0%, captures the extrusion process and equipment side more directly. Smaller classes such as B29C (plastics shaping, 9.5%) and C12N (microorganisms, 7.7%) mark narrower but technically distinct branches worth checking separately if your work touches extrusion hardware or fermentation-assisted texturization.
The clearest gaps sit in branches with low record counts relative to the core: microorganism-assisted texturization overlapping C12N, animal feed co-extrusion formats under A23K, and dairy-protein blended HME touching A23C, each well below the density of the core protein and shaping classes. Anisotropy index measurement methods also appear thinly claimed relative to their importance in verifying fibrous structure. These are not confirmed to be commercially unexplored, only under-claimed in the patent record, so any filing strategy there should still start with a freedom-to-operate check against the concentrated top assignees.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.