An increasing number of consumers are seeking plant-based alternatives that meet the functionality and taste of traditional animal-based foods. A high-performing plant-based barista beverage is coveted by consumers with the growth of specialty foamed coffee beverages. However, today there is a major functionality gap between dairy and plant-based commercial barista offerings. The structure of dairy proteins allow for formation of stable, pourable microfoams that are perceived as creamy to the consumer. Meeting the functionality of dairy proteins with plant-based proteins is a major challenge, considering how structurally different plant seed storage proteins are from dairy proteins. In addition, dairy proteins are generally more stable against aggregation and other quality defects at the pH of coffee compared to plant-based proteins. Given these challenges, this study established an approach to identify and quantify the functionality gaps between dairy and plant-based commercial barista beverages via functionality mapping. This mapping approach was then leveraged to (1) understand from a structure-function standpoint why plant-based commercial offerings are functionally inferior to dairy, (2) identify the quantitative targets for bridging the gap, and (3) guide development of a novel plant-based barista solution. By tracking patterns in how different formulations allowed us to move along the map, this approach was successful in developing a novel ingredient system for plant-based barista beverage functionality. This work demonstrates how utilizing a functionality mapping approach can progress ingredient structure-function understanding and catalyze the development of novel plant-based food and beverage applications. Speaker: Alexandra Hall, PhD