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Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

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Newsletter: Yeast Could be the Key to our Plant-Based Food Future — and CBD, Too

Happy Friday from L.A., where I came for a weekend of fancy toast, museum-hopping, and sipping as much green juice as my wallet can handle.

Just a short way down the coast is the headquarters of Beyond Meat, the startup whose plant-based burgers are making their way onto the plates of vegetarians and carnivores alike, including Bill Gates. This week, the Microsoft founder curated MIT Technology Review’s annual list of Top 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2019, and named plant-based burgers one of his picks. (He has invested in both Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods in the past.)

That wasn’t the only news around plant-based protein this week. Impossible Foods announced that it was bringing its famous “bleeding” meat to Singapore!

Impossible’s burgers get their bloody appearance from heme, which the startup’s scientists make through a process that involves genetically engineered yeast. They’re not the only ones using yeast to make better-tasting meat alternatives: New company Motif Ingredients (a spinoff of Ginkgo Bioworks), which just launched this week, uses modified yeast to “brew” proteins intended for use in plant-based foods. This could lead to an influx of new meat alternative startups, as companies would no longer need their own expensive R&D lab and team of scientists in order to develop an animal-free product.

But genetically modified yeast can make a lot more than just protein. This week, scientists from Berkeley announced they had developed a way to use genetically modified yeast to create CBD and THC.

That’s right, the active components of Mary Jane can be grown in a lab. So in addition to bread, protein, beer, and milk, we can now add weed to the list of things that yeast can make. That’s one mighty microbe.

A bloody Impossible burger.

Let’s shift gears a minute to one of our all-time favorite topics: robots. Also pizza.

This week resident Spoon robo-expert Chris wrote about FedEx’s new delivery robot which can navigate stairs to deliver packages — or a piping-hot pizza — to your doorstep. He also covered Basil Street, a company developing automated pizza vending machines that can cook a pie in three minutes flat. In non-pizza robot news, the makers of Julia, a countertop cooking robot, raised an undisclosed amount of funding this week.

Seems like there’s a lot of really exciting innovation a-brewing in the world of food robotics, eh? If you want to join the conversation, we’re having a Slack Chat dedicated to the topic of automation in food TODAY at 10:30 a.m. PST. Experts from Byte Foods, Augean Robotics, and Kiwi Technology will be joining, and it’s sure to be valuable and, most importantly, fun. Sign up for our Slack Channel (it’s free and super easy, promise) to join. See you then!

Still can’t get enough robots? (We can’t, either.) Our food robotics and automation summit ArticulATE is happening April 16 at General Assembly in downtown San Francisco. If you want a teaser, this week we spoke with Linda Pouliot, CEO and founder of Dishcraft Robotics (yep, she’ll be at ArticulATE!), about what sort of kitchen tasks robots are suited for — and which ones are best left to humans. Early Bird Tickets for the summit are on sale now — get ’em while they’re hot.

With that, it’s time to eat tacos until I can’t eat tacos no mo. Peace.

Catherine

Will There Be a CBD Unicorn? Takeaways from The Spoon’s CBD Slack Chat

Last Friday we had our first ever Slack Chat, which was kind of like what would happen if Twitter chat and a Reddit AMA had a baby. Led by industry experts, each chat explores a different topic making waves in food tech. For the first installment, we decided to tackle cannabidiol, better known as CBD.

The chat was led by Kris Taylor of Lumen, a hemp elixir company; Caroline Yeh of Kiva Confections, a marijuana edibles company; and Merril Gilbert and Rhiannon Wallstedt Woo of TraceTrust, a marijuana dose-verification startup. We only had 60 minutes (time flies when you’re Slack chatting, am I right?), but still managed to take a deep dive into some of the biggest opportunities and challenges of the CBD edibles market. In case you missed it, here are a few of the takeaways:

Quick refresh — what’s the deal with (hemp-derived) CBD? 
According to our experts, chemically there’s no difference between CBD from the marijuana plant and CBD from the hemp plant. Nonetheless, only CBD derived from hemp is legal under the Farm Bill, which passed a few months ago. And the FDA still considers CBD to be an illegal food ingredient. So while the sale of hemp-derived CBD may be legal, the sale of food or drink containing CBD is not. The FDA will open a comment period around the use of CBD in food soon — our panel guessed some point over the next six months.

Photo: The Spoon Slack.

When will Big Food get involved?
The panelists were pretty unified on this: Big Food will get on board when the FDA concludes that CBD is GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe). Until then, big corporations — like Coca-Cola, which was rumored to be researching CBD — won’t make any significant moves.

While major CPGs may not launch products until the FDA gives the green light, our panelists guessed that many (if not most) of these Big Food companies are already at work developing CBD-infused products. But for now smaller, artisanal producers are dominating the space.

The Spoon founder Mike Wolf wondered if we might see a unicorn in the cannabis/CBD edibles space over the next few years, as has happened in other food tech markets like food delivery and meal kits. (Again, as soon as the FDA declares CBD as food-safe.) “I have a feeling we’ll see some big new entrants that become big mainstream CPGs,” he wrote. That is, as long as they’re not acquired by larger CPG companies first.

But not all startups will be subsumed by Big Food. Woo wrote that “I think it will be more like coffee where the explosion of the industry made room for so many small brands to flourish.”

Who’s the target CBD consumer?
Our panelists concluded that the target consumer is… everyone. Well, pretty much everyone. “[It’s] a broad segment of the population,” said Yeh. “People who are already taking supplements, interested in wellness products, etc.” Gilbert agreed, also citing those interested in health and wellness, especially older consumers — for example, ones who might use CBD to treat problems like arthritis.

But if CBD is going to achieve this widespread appeal, it’s going to need some seriously good marketing. “This is where branding and marketing comes in,” wrote Taylor. “I firmly believe that most people have a use for CBD in their lives. It’s just when and how they choose to incorporate it that is the question.” Friend of The Spoon Surj Patel had an even more optimistic take: “It’s the new quinoa,” he wrote.

Photo: The Spoon Slack.

So, what’s next for CBD?
“We have not scratched the surface on what is possible,” said Yeh. As the technologies evolve and companies develop new methods of extraction, new products and marketplaces will unfold.

While Taylor wrote that there’s no need for more CBD-processing capacity, there are new opportunities in terms of technology. For example, CBD naturally has a bitter taste; companies can use tech to develop better flavor-masking agents.

Going forward, brands will play a bigger and bigger role. As long as they can make themselves stand out from the sea of companies hustling to enter the growing CBD edibles space. That level of competition could make fundraising a challenge, especially if investors are wary to support a company making products that aren’t FDA-approved.

Until the FDA designates CBD as GRAS, there’s still plenty of opportunity for education about this trending ingredient. Brands can begin teaching consumers about the effects, (potential) benefits, and versatility of CBD now, so that when the FDA gives the thumbs up, the market is already in place.

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Our next Slack Chat is slated for February 15th from 10:30-11:30am PST, and will be all about food robotics! So sign up for our Slack channel (if you haven’t already) and mark your calendar!

Stillwater’s CBD Powder Lets Food Manufacturers Turn “Anything Into an Edible”

If you’re looking to try trend du jour CBD (cannabidiol), the non-hallucinogenic chemical in marijuana, you’ve got a lot of options these days: the trendy ingredient is making its way into sparkling water, beer, candies, and even dog biscuits (okay, you probably won’t try the last one).

Companies big and small are hustling to take advantage of burgeoning consumer demand for CBD. Major beverage corporations like Molson Coors, Lagunitas, and Constellation Brands have all been developing drinks infused with the trendy ingredient. Even Coca-Cola is exploring ways to make use of CBD (though they won’t pull the trigger until the substance is legal throughout the U.S.).

“All of these [Big Food] companies are looking at it or at least talking to people about it,” said Jeremy Goldstein, co-founder and COO of Stillwater Brands, a company that makes cannabis edibles and drinkables. With good reason: Hemp Business Journal estimates that the CBD market is projected to grow by a whopping 700 percent by 2020, hitting $2.1 billion in sales. Greenwave Advisors, an independent research firm focused on the cannabis market, estimates CBD sales will hit almost $3 billion by 2021.

Based in Colorado, Stillwater’s products are targeted at a “new” sort of cannabis edibles consumer: someone who wants to experiment with marijuana in a way that’s safe, predictable, and consistent — and also tastes good. Everyone has had the experience where they ate too much and it “hit them like a ton of bricks,” said Goldstein. Their main product is Ripple, a tasteless, water-soluble powder that lets people turn “anything an edible,” according to Goldstein. By making Ripple water-soluble, Stillwater increased the speed of onset, so consumers will feel its full effects within 15 minutes and can decide whether or not they want to take more.

Thus far, all of Stillwater’s products have had at least some THC (the psychoactive element in cannabis) in them. But starting next year, Stillwater will launch an all-CBD version (less than .3 percent THC) of Ripple’s tasteless, odorless powder. And that’s where Stillwater’s business plan starts to get more interesting — and more complicated.

In order to make a CBD-only product, Goldstein told me they have to use a new facility that’s entirely separate from the one they use to make their products that contain THC. That’s because the regulatory framework is different depending on whether or not an edible contains THC and CBD, or CBD only; products that contain THC can only be made and sold in states where recreational marijuana is legal (as of now, that’s just 10 states plus D.C.), and you can only purchase them from a licensed dispensary.

The legality of CBD-only products, on the other hand, is very murky. The FDA recently approved a purified form of CBD as a treatment for certain seizure disorders, but they haven’t investigated it in a recreational context — which means it’s illegal on a federal level. Nonetheless, plenty of companies still ship CBD products, from fruit beverages to mango-chili chocolates, across state lines. As of now, there haven’t been any legal repercussions for these companies, but some, like Dirty Lemon, are backing away from the space, wary of liability issues.

Stillwater is already selling their water-soluble CBD product wholesale. Their B2B ingredients business, Stillwater Ingredients, currently provides CBD to two major food manufacturers and “five to ten” smaller clients in the U.S. (Goldstein didn’t disclose exact numbers), and also partners with a major Canadian cannabis company.

Like many other companies that make cannabis edibles (or drinkables), Stillwater frames their products as wellness tools — not party drugs. That stance goes double for products with just CBD, which many believe it has anti-inflammatory and calming effects (though it hasn’t yet been tested by the FDA).

Entering the wellness industry is a smart move: the global market is estimated to be around $4.2 trillion. By marketing their edibles as wellness tools, almost like vitamins, Stillwater can also capture a wider range of consumers than traditional “stoners.” According to Goldstein, their target demographic is anyone who might use a sleep aid, struggle with anxiety, or have difficulty focusing at work. In short: pretty much everyone.

If the 2018 Farm Bill, which is reportedly nearing the finish line, passes, Stillwater might soon be serving a lot more of these consumers. The bill would legalize sales of hemp-derived CBD nationwide, opening the floodgates for the cannabidiol market and bringing many more players, wholesale and otherwise, to the table. It could even pave the way for Big Food to release CBD-infused products. Until then, come next year, you can use Stillwater’s Ripple to edible-ize anything your heart desires, from apple juice to zucchini bread.

For a Fast-Growing Cannabis Edibles Market, Trust is Key

When you’re curious if a food is organic or non-GMO, you look to see if there’s a label. If so, you know the item’s entire supply chain has been examined, tested, and verified by a reliable organization.

TraceTrust is working create the same sort of third-party certification for an emerging food product: cannabis-infused edibles. Started three years ago by Merril Gilbert and Rhiannon Woo, the California-based company came about right as their state was on the cusp of legalizing marijuana. Originally, they wanted to develop an entirely new type of edible: one targeted not at stoners, but a modern consumer who wanted to experiment with cannabis in a way that was subtle, reliable, and regulated.

Their target consumer group was women who wanted to use marijuana to relax or relieve pain, but didn’t want to smoke it or eat something with a heavy, overwhelming cannabis flavor. The two women got a clear, flavorless oil and gave it to pastry chefs to turn into baked goods, but quickly realized a big problem: when mixed into cookies or candies, it was really difficult to gauge potency.

“Unpredictability is the biggest issue facing the edibles market,” Gilbert told me over the phone. So TraceTrust shifted gears and began focusing on dosing. They now work with manufacturers and labs to test each edible and ensure that its advertised doses of CBD (non-psychoactive) and THC (psychoactive) are accurate and consistent. TraceTrust also examines the product’s packaging and consumption instructions to make sure they’re easy to understand. This is especially important for items which contain multiple servings, like a chocolate bar, where each square contains a prescribed cannabis dose.

If a product checks all the boxes, then TraceTrust will give the product a special seal of approval, called A True Dose. Basically, it signifies that the edible is made with reliable strains of marijuana and that each serving will contain exactly the dose it advertises.

A True Dose is currently in beta and will launch nationwide in January 2019. Starting then, manufacturers in any state where marijuana is legal can pay TraceTrust a fee to get their products certified. If they pass, they’ll earn the A True Dose seal to put on their packaging and marketing materials; if not, the TraceTrust team will work with them to correct any issues. “Overall, it’s very similar to non-GMO or any third party seal,” said Gilbert.

Gilbert predicts that as edibles become more widely legalized and, thus, normalized, labels like this will play a much larger role. “Anything that says, ‘We went further, we did more, we care’ is going to win consumers,” she said. They’re hoping that the A True Dose label will become a point of differentiation for brands, so they can charge more if their product sports the seal.

As we’ve written about previously on the Spoon, cannabis is rapidly becoming normalized and de-stigmatized; the same goes for edibles. Gone are the days of stale weed brownies — nowadays, consumers can get their high from a variety of beverages (beer, soda, coffee, even sparkling water), candies, chocolates, and more. Even Big Food and Drink companies are getting in on the game: Molson Coors, Heineken, and even Coca-Cola have all teamed up with cannabis companies to create marijuana-infused beverages.

“We’re beyond the stoner culture now,” said Gilbert. “But what makes people hesitate when it comes to edibles is the unknown.” Hopefully, TraceTrust can help cut through the haze of smoke currently covering cannabis edibles.

Gilbert will be speaking at the Smart Kitchen Summit on a panel entitled “Edible Cannabis: The New Functional Food?” She’ll be joined by Scott Riefler of Tarukino, an innovation group which develops cannabis-infused beverages, and Linda Gilbert of BDS Analytics, who tracks and analyzes the marijuana consumer market. If you’re interested in learning more about the future of edibles, don’t miss it!