From precision-fermented fats to novel proteins, the promise of next generation ingredients are critical in reaching the nutrition needs of a growing global population. But this innovation depends on one thing the industry still lacks: an accessible, efficient, functional scale-up ecosystem, according to experts during Future Food-Tech San Francisco last month.
The bottleneck isn’t the technology – it’s everything after, according to the panel. The journey from lab discovery to commercialization falls apart because the infrastructure, expertise and financing necessary for scale-up don’t exist at the levels they’re needed.
Commercialization “requires all the parts – the gravity of the established incumbent, the scrappiness of a startup and the money” from the government or industry, said Joshua Lachter, co-founder and chief business officer of Roebling (formerly Synonym) which helps biomanufacturing development.
But that ecosystem cannot be built by startups alone. Nor will it be built fast enough by government alone. CPGs must play a more active role if they want consistent, commercial-ready ingredients.
CPGs need to actively shape biotech teams
Pilot and demo-scale fermentation facilities in the US are sparse, forcing companies to go overseas for production – which ultimately slows progress and drains capital, according to one expert.
“Pilot plants are underfunded in the US,” said David Nathan, director of program technology for Biomade – a US government-funded organization that develops biomanufacturing pilot and demo-scale infrastructure. He emphasized the need for shared infrastructure and workforce development.
Even well-funded facilities struggle to deliver without trained operators, process engineers and technicians.
Scaling requires people who understand process economics, byproduct management, and the difficult realities of unit economics at 10,000 liters or more, noted Manoj Kumar, Louis Dreyfus Company’s plant protein president and CTO. Without these experts, costs spiral and timelines fade, he said.
Ecosystem developers say CPG involvement is coming too late, explained Frederieke Reiners, VP of GEA’s new line food business – a company that provides food processing equipment, commercial machinery and full facility solutions.
The solution? Testing, validating and solving process problems early – and together – is the only way to de-risk technologies before they reach investors and procurement teams, she emphasized.
For CPGs facing innovation pressure, the earlier they engage, the better the partnership to help build scale-up capacity and secure innovations for future proofing some of the food system’s crucial vulnerabilities.
