
Is plant cell culture a scalable way to futureproof cocoa and coffee?
“We’re not trying to replace agriculture or even compete with it; we’re closing the gap between demand and supply,” says Food Brewer CEO Christian Schaub.
“We’re not trying to replace agriculture or even compete with it; we’re closing the gap between demand and supply,” says Food Brewer CEO Christian Schaub.
The “investment towards future partnership” will help transform the way cocoa is produced in a market where demand is expected to dramatically exceed supply in the coming years, claims the startup.
Potato protein is highly soluble and has gelling, foaming, emulsification, binding, texturizing and stabilizing properties. It is also non-allergenic, which makes it attractive to formulators if the availability is there and the price is right, says ReaGenics.
Plus… Nestlé enters ‘blended meat’ space, Ahimsa acquires Good Catch alt-seafood production facility from Gathered Foods, and study probes ‘unexplored’ subsoil.
Israeli startup Kokomodo has emerged from stealth armed with $750k from The Kitchen FoodTech Hub to produce cocoa via plant cell culture.
‘Investors are starting to understand that plant cell culture is one of the emerging categories within cellular agriculture,’ says CEO Frank Jaksch.
But does it make sense to grow a commodity ingredient such as coffee in a bioreactor, or does plant cell culture only make sense for ultra-high-value botanicals such as saffron?
Ayana Bio has signed a deal with Wooree Green Science to develop saffron and other bioactives made via plant cell culture.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is unsurprisingly top of mind but founders also cite new developments in bioinformatics, plant cell culture and continuous fermentation in our festive vox pop.
French startup Amatera is developing a coffee variety with the resilience and yields of Robusta and the taste of Arabica.
Israeli startup ReaGenics is developing plant cell culture techniques to grow everything from saffron to cannabinoids, peyote, resveratrol, and anthocyanins from purple maize.
Plant cell culture startup STEM is making real coffee, without beans. But is this a scalable approach to producing a commodity product?
Plant cell culture has been around for decades. So what’s prompted the recent flurry of activity in the food and nutraceuticals space?
One of a new wave of startups seeking to unlock the potential of plant cell culture in the food and nutrition industry, Ayana Bio has launched its first ingredients: lemon balm and echinacea.