Vegan honey maker MeliBio won first place at Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition’s first (AHN) Next Generation Taste & Technology Technologies (NGT3) pitch slam Feb. 5 at AHN’s Itasca, Ill. facility.
AHN awarded three food-tech companies top prizes for innovation in functional proteins, flavor compounds, enzyme systems or next-generation sweeteners. For its innovative bee-less honey product, San Francisco-based MeliBio won $15,000 as well as 24 hours of one-on-one support from AHN to address scaling, regulatory and other business challenges.
Netherlands-based The Protein Brewery won second place and $10,000 for its biotech-derived complete protein Fermotein, which will launch this year a tortilla, nutrition bar and protein shakes.
Precision fermentation company Cellibre won third place and $5,000.
Also, complete protein maker EQUII, taste receptor data company Tasteomics and cellular flavoring company Alcheme Bio pitched their companies.
The panel consisted of Robert Sobel, VP research and innovation at McCormick FONA; Laurette Rondenet, CEO and owner of flavor company Edlong; Manleen Rajput, innovation program manager at World Business Chicago; and others.
“Winning the first Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition NGT3 competition is a testament to our team’s ability to successfully research, develop and commercialize the future of food solutions. MeliBio is on a mission to give bees a break and together with our customers and strategic partners we lead the charge for next gen technologies that are better for humans and better for bees. We are beyond excited for the spotlight given by one of the oldest food and science companies in the world that recognized our achievements,” said Darko Mandich.
The Global Food-Tech Awards honors innovative startups
The Future Food-Tech event honors innovative startups with a new award program called The Global Food-Tech Awards. The US competition is currently underway and startups with 20 or fewer employees are encouraged to apply here. The deadline for applications is Feb. 28.
MeliBio gives ‘bees a break’ with precision fermentation
Founded in 2020, MeliBio uses plant science and precision fermentation to “engineer the same enzymes found in honeybees’ honey stomach,” said Mandich. The company was founded to address myriad issues related to the reliance on bee honey, Mandich explained.
“There is the food security issue of the European Union, United States or Japan being heavily reliant on imports. There is crazy price volatility happening in this industry. A lot of unethical practices around keeping bees in tiny boxes,” he elaborated.
“Honey and olive oil are two of the most adulterated ingredients ever. So, the question of product integrity and quality is there,” he added.
Like many biotech startups, MeliBio’s first product iteration came at a steep cost to produce a two ounce sample ─ $300,000 ─ before the company successfully scaled production through trial and error, Mandich said. This year, MeliBio projects to be cheaper than American- or European-produced honey with 65% gross margin, he added.
Upon successfully scaling its product, MeliBio launched a branded product line called Mellody to get the word out about its vegan honey, which is available in Golden Clover and Spicy Habanero.
“We were able to scale from that $300,000, most-expensive honey, and in 2023, land our first paying customer ever,” Mandich said. “Last year, we were able to scale from one restaurant to 400 restaurants and supermarkets in the US.”
