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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

ADM

ADM Partners With Air Protein to Make ‘Landless’ Protein From CO2

Today ADM announced a partnership with Air Protein, a company developing technology to make protein out of thin air, using carbon dioxide as a feedstock.

According to the announcement, the two companies have entered a Strategic Development Agreement (SDA) to advance the development and production of this protein that can be developed without arable land. The agreement leverages ADM’s expertise in nutrition and research and Air Protein’s protein production technology to expand the protein ecosystem and deliver sustainable, cost-effective ingredients for meat substitutes. The two companies will collaborate to build the first commercial-scale production facility for air protein.

The foundation of Air Protein’s protein production methodology (sometimes referred to as gas fermentation) was developed in the 1960s as NASA explored ways to produce food in space. While the technology was shelved for decades, it has been dusted off in recent years as a new cohort of startups has started to explore new ways to create proteins more sustainably.

One of the problems often cited in the alt protein space is an over-reliance on glucose as a feedstock, and many see the development of lower-cost and more sustainable feedstocks as necessary for the continued growth of the industry. Air protein and other companies using gas fermentation technology leverage single-cell organisms to convert CO2 into protein, opening the door to a possibly more sustainable method for fueling future growth in alternative proteins.

Another benefit of gas fermentation is that it disconnects protein production from arable land. Many developing economies neither have arable farmland nor resources to produce cheap and abundant protein; this technology could provide a pathway to produce protein in emerging markets.

Given the company’s size and importance in the global food supply chain, ADM’s entry into the air protein space could be a further validation of this nascent technology. One has to wonder if ADM’s stamp of approval will spur further interest in the technology across the food value chain, encouraging other big food system players to partner with some of the other companies in this space, which include Solar Foods, Deep Branch Biotechnology, and Air Company.

ADM Partners With New Culture as Part of Growing Buildout of Alt-Protein Production Infrastructure

ADM, one of the world’s largest food processing companies, has inked a deal with New Culture, a startup developing animal-free cheese utilizing precision fermentation, to offer joint product development and scale-up commercialization services.

The deal will help New Culture scale up production of its animal-free casein (casein is the protein that gives cheese its stretchy and melty goodness) as it eyes the commercial launch of its animal-free mozzarella in 2023.

From the release:

The partnership will also include collaborations to advance the commercial scale-up of New Culture’s animal-free casein and dairy products. ADM’s global manufacturing assets and expertise will accelerate New Culture’s efforts toward commercializing their animal-free mozzarella in the U.S. food service market, beginning with pizzerias in 2023. As New Culture grows its commercial footprint, ADM’s production capacity for both fermentation and dairy operations will be made available to meet the demand for New Culture’s melty, stretchy cheese.

The partnership marks the latest in a flurry of new initiatives by the food processing giant to position itself as a scale-up partner for alternative protein startups. Earlier this month, the company announced a joint venture with Asia Sustainable Foods Platform (a subsidiary of Singapore conglomerate Temasek) called ScaleUp Bio. The new company will work A*STAR’s Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI) to provide a lab for precision fermentation and scale-up services. ScaleUp Bio will provide access to 100L fermentation tanks for testing and optimization of future food products and high-scale production capabilities through access to a new facility with a 10,000L fermentation capacity.

The New Culture and ScaleUp Bio deals follow an announcement of ADM’s $300 million investment to build an alternative production center in Decatur. That move followed the acquisition of Sojaprotein in 2021. The company has said these two deals will increase its alt-protein production capacity by 30%.

ADM’s push into alt-protein scale-up services is part of a larger trend by big food to build-out infrastructure for the growing alt-protein industry. Beer giant AB InBev’s BioBrew, a division of the company’s ZX Ventures that provides scale-up for alt-protein startups, is working with Every Company (formerly Clara Foods) to help scale up its precision fermentation-derived egg products. Bitburger, a German-based brewery, is providing precision fermentation production capacity and sidestream byproducts as inputs for development of Mushlab’s mycelium-derived proteins for alternative meats.

Increased investment by big companies like ADM, AB InBev, and Bitburger is just the beginning of what will likely be a multi-billion-dollar alt-protein infrastructure build-out by big food over the coming decade. The Good Food Institute has said $27 billion is needed to meet demand by 2030 for plant-based meat alone. The tally will certainly be much higher when factoring in other alt-protein variants manufactured using cell-cultured and precision fermentation techniques. These investments come as a new wave of biomanufacturing startups building next-generation production facilities continue to pop up and receive funding.

 

The Spoon Talks With ADM’s President of Global Foods About Trends Shaping Alternative Proteins in 2022

Even though ADM isn’t the first company you think of when it comes to alternative proteins, its sheer size and long reach into every sector of the food and ag value chain mean it will inevitably have a hand in steering just how fast the future food industry can scale.

Because of this, we thought we’d sit down with the company’s president of global foods and ingredients, Leticia Gonçalves, to hear what’s on her mind when it comes to trends shaping alternative proteins over the next year. The timing is good because ADM has just released its 2022 alt protein outlook which highlighted five trends the company sees as having a big impact in 2022.

The trends from the report featured are:

  • Introduction of novel protein sources, from cell-based to fungus and air
  • Advent of fermentation-as-aservice (FaaS)
  • Next generation, plant-based, whole-muscle solutions
  • Innovation and transparency from seed-to-fork
  • Price reduction of cultivated meat products
  • The rise of kid-friendly product formats

I asked Gonçalves about each of these trends. Here are some highlights from our conversation:

On the introduction of novel protein sources, from cell-based to fungus and air

“All those technologies are in the development phase. It’s not just the cell-based and fungi and air protein, but plant based solutions beyond soy including pea protein, technologies like cheap chickpeas, sunflower, even pinto beans. We see those new companies with the next-generation technologies advancing very quickly into bringing new technologies to market.

We see the trend of not only of new food startup companies investing, but many companies, including large companies like ADM, investing in those technologies. This is to help solve not only the technical needs to make sure that those technologies are not just viable from a technology standpoint, but also in terms of scalability and cost to achieve market success.”

On fermentation-as-a-service

“We see tremendous growing interest in microbial fermentation, especially as a novel method for developing alternative protein products. We have been expanding our fermentation capabilities and innovating in terms of new ways to serve food, beverage, and health and wellness brands. They’re seeking support, especially with downstream processing, lab services, and also consulting among other components essential to the food-grade fermentation. So it’s not only the novel technology but is how we connect that with the downstream processing, the lab services. Even how those technologies can be applied into final applications and get to the consumer acceptance at the end.”

On next generation, plant-based, whole-muscle solutions

“There has been a lot of technology evolving in that space. There are companies that are investing in how we can reproduce the texture realization of animal-based whole muscle cuts, from T bone steaks to shellfish to chicken nuggets. There is a lot of advancement in not only combining plant based and cultivated meat, for example, but also other binders and other texturants that can really bring that texture of the whole muscle meat. Sometimes it’s not just one answer one technology, but it’s how you bring all those pieces together to give the desired texture.”

On innovation and transparency from seed-to-fork

“Consumers are getting even more acquainted after the pandemic with where their food comes from, how we can protect animal welfare, and how can we all contribute to better climate solutions. The critical part of seed to fork is there are things you can do in the seed that can really drive lower cost and a better profile into the finished product. Not only to drive the transparency but to drive better throughput, starting with a seed composition that has a higher protein content, a better taste profile, better color profile. All of that will contribute to a better finished product at the end of the value chain.”

On price reduction of cultivated meat products

“Scale and price are connected. In December, Future Meat, said they are now producing cultivated chicken breast for just $7.70 per pound, which is down from approximately $18 per pound six months prior. So that’s a tremendous progress in just six months. But its still on a small scale. And the critical point, and then it’s something ADM has been contributing to finding a solution, is how you can scale and continue driving their price down to make sure that we get closer to to the price point that consumers will be willing to pay. It’s still an evolution, and I think the progress has been substantial. But there’s more progress to be made to make this a viable commercial and scale scalable technology.”

On the rise of kid-friendly product formats

“There are a lot of chicken nuggets or meatballs that are plant-based today, but what’s beyond that? Let’s think about what we can vary based on life stages and ages of kids, which can go from yogurt, to pizza to mac and cheese. Including different forms of veg forward products where they can find vegetables in a different way with more veg forward concept into ready meals. So those are all things that we are looking, you know, to bring more kid friendly product formats into the future.”

You can listen to my full conversation with Gonçalves below or find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

ADM Launches Plant-Based Innovation Lab in Singapore

Global food processing company Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) announced at the tail-end of last week it had opened an innovation lab in Singapore dedicated to plant-based protein. The lab will help the company increase production of alternative proteins “to meet growing food and beverage demand in the Asia-Pacific region.”

The new facility is located ADM’s Biopolis research hub, which contains a number of different labs, including one for flavor analytics, a sensory evaluation center, labs for sweet, savory, and dairy foods, and a customer innovation center. The plant-based innovation lab will house experts working with texture, flavor, and other key areas of alt-protein development.

“The lab will help us capture key insight and learnings to help drive exciting new solutions for the Asian market, but also help us better serve customers around the world looking to incorporate Asian flavors and preferences into their latest plant-based food and beverage innovations,” Marie Wright, chief global flavorist and president, Creation, Design & Development for ADM, said in a statement. 

Singapore continues to be a key location in Asia for the development of alternative proteins. Just today, cultivated meat company Avant Meats announced its own R&D and pilot manufacturing facility in the city-state. Perfect Day announced its Singapore facility in December of 2020, and the city-state made history in December 2020 by granting the world’s first regulatory approval to a company, Eat Just, to sell cultured meat. There is also a growing number of local players, including plant-based meat maker Next Gen and cell-based seafood maker Shiok Meats.

Singapore is a natural spot for food innovation. Currently, it relies on exports for about 90 percent of its food. The government’s 30×30 initiative is attempting to change this by aiming to make 30 percent of food production local by 2030. 

At the same time, Asia is one of the key regions for the growth of alternative proteins. A recent report from DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences found that demand for plant-based protein in the Asia-Pacific markets is expected to grow 200 percent over the next five years.

Bacon in the U.S., Chicken in Europe: ADM’s Dir. of Flexitarian Solutions on Developing Plant-based Meats for Different Regions

The rising popularity of meat alternatives is a worldwide phenomenon. From Brazil to Belgium to Birmingham, Alabama, consumers are embracing flexitarian lifestyles and eating more plant-based meat.

But as culinary tastes vary widely around the world, so do preferences for plant-based meat. That makes things tricky for giant companies that are attempting to simultaneously develop alternative proteins that will appeal to a wide range of geographies. 

That’s one of the biggest hurdles that Kurt Long, the Director of Flexitarian Solutions for global food and commodities giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has to deal with. “Every culture has a different taste or texture that they’re targeting,” he told me in a recent phone interview. “Even something basic like a hot dog will have different taste in Latin America than in Asia.”

To cater to these differences, ADM is developing totally different plant-based offerings meant to appeal specifically to each region. For example, in Europe they’re developing fibrous products to emulate plant-based chicken, which is gaining massive popularity in that area of the world. In North America they’re racing to make meatless bacon (hurry up, please). In Latin America they’re focused on burgers; in Asia, it’s pork analogs.

Of course, it’s no surprise that different parts of the globe have different tastes in plant-based meat. But it’s interesting to hear just how much those differences apply to meat alternatives — and how R&D teams will have to tweak the flavor palate and texture to meet local consumer tastes. For example, Asian consumers like more gelatinous textures, which might not translate to, say, Europe.

This challenge — to create products that appeal across the globe — isn’t one reserved only for major food corporations like ADM. Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat are also gearing up to launch in China. Depending on consumer reception there they might have to tweak their formulas to appeal to their palates, especially if they want to compete with local plant-based meat companies like Omnipork.

For now, Long noted that ADM is currently filling the most demand in U.S. and Europe. But that could soon change. Rising global incomes in developing countries are spurring a higher demand for protein, specifically meat. At the same time China, the largest meat consumer in the world, is facing massive pork shortages as the African Swine Flu ravages its pig population.

Plant-based meat options can help fill these protein gaps — that is, as long as they can be agile and adapt to regional flavor and texture preferences. Admittedly, a big if.

Perfect Day Partners with ADM to Scale up Production of Cow-Free Dairy

Perfect Day, the startup which makes milk without the animal, today announced that it has entered into a partnership with global food processing company Archer Daniels Midland (ADM).

The two forged a Joint Development Agreement to scale up implementation of Perfect Day‘s tech, which uses fermentation to create dairy proteins without any involvement from a cow. Their initial product will be an animal-free whey protein

By taking advantage of ADM existing fermentation infrastructure, Berkeley-based Perfect Day is expecting to scale up and gain price parity with conventional whey protein relatively quickly. They plan to enter the market within the next few years.

Eager customers might not have to wait that long to try animal-free dairy, however. A statement from the founders revealed that Perfect Day is currently forming relationships with food & bev companies “big and small” to develop new products with their animal-free dairy, some of which might be available as early as next year.

Back in March of this year Perfect Day raised $24.7 million, just a month after it received a patent to use their animal-free dairy tech in food applications. This announcement comes roughly a year after the startup shifted to a technology as a service model, partnering with food and drink companies in order to scale and bring their goods to market more quickly.

And wow, did they start off with a big one. As co-founder Perumal Gandhi told us, he wanted Perfect Day’s products to “be national from Day One.” Now, with this ADM partnership, it looks like those ambitions might come true.