Today, One Bio, a startup that develops short-chain fiber food ingredients derived from plants, announced that it has raised a $27 million funding round led by Alpha Edison, alongside other investors including Leaps by Bayer and Mitsui E12 according to announcement sent to The Spoon. The company plans to use this funding to commercialize its technology, which makes dietary fiber flavorless and invisible.
“Modern food processing techniques strip plant fibers from our foods and starve the microbiome of the nutrients it needs to make us healthy,” explained Matt Barnard, co-founder and CEO of One Bio, in an interview with The Spoon this week. Barnard believes the modern diet’s reliance on highly processed foods has led to widespread fiber deficiency, a condition linked to a host of chronic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disorders. “What we enable is for fiber to be poured back into the diet.”
One Bio’s technology breaks down plant fibers into short-chain molecules that are tasteless, odorless, and seamlessly blend into everyday foods. “Whether it’s plant milks, cereals, or even sparkling water, we’re able to offer high-dose, high-function, anti-inflammatory fibers in just about anything on the grocery store shelf,” said Barnard.
Barnard compares what his company and others in the space are doing to efforts a century ago that increased awareness of the importance of vitamins and minerals. “Before that work, people weren’t aware of the diverse structures and their functions in the body. Fiber consumption is the malnutrition of the modern diet. We see this as a big breakthrough, both in understanding what fibers are and in unleashing their application across food categories.”
The investment in One Bio is yet another signal of a broader shift in the food industry, with major food brands adapting to the rise of GLP-1s. This marks a shift from the doom-and-gloom perspective of a year and a half ago, when these treatments were seen as a death knell for the world of packaged foods, to a more glass-half-full view that sees the trend as an opportunity. As Conagra Brands and others begin labeling products as “GLP-1 friendly” to cater to consumers using these medications, One Bio hopes to provide food companies with high-fiber, functional ingredients to integrate into their products.
“Our technology helps consumers not just address nutrient deficiencies but also offers an off-ramp from GLP-1 medications without their long-term side effects,” Barnard added.
