SINGAPORE, Nov. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — This year, Singapore-based Sophie’s Bionutrients brought the world’s first choice of milk made from protein-rich microalgae. Protein ecosystem of plant origin.
Algae-based ingredients have attracted the interest of the food industry in recent years as a sustainable, animal-free source of protein, lipids and micronutrients. Traditionally grown in open ponds, they grow incredibly fast and require few inputs, but Wang sees a way to grow microalgae for food, based on fermentation using food industry waste as raw material.
“Since I’m looking to make food out of it, all I care about is protein,” he explained. Since I care about protein, I can use fermentation to increase the production power much more. That’s how I got here through this technology. “
Explore alternatives
With an MBA from The University of Colombia, Wang started out as an investment banker, but soon realized that wasn’t his lifestyle. Raised in Taiwan, in a circle of relatives with a long-standing food business, he encouraged through his daughter Sophie, who is allergic to seafood. In 2013, Wang began reading how he can harness algae to expand options to seafood, and then discovered the much broader perspective of algae. Sophie’s bionutrients were officially announced in 2019 and the company presented its milk choice based on May this year.
“The more I looked for it, the more I learned that it wasn’t limited to plant-based seafood, it may be open to all sorts of applications,” he said. “I can make milk with it. it can turn it into meat. I can even turn it into a kind of bakery protein flour. “
Wang says the choice of milk to microalgae is just the beginning, and that the company plans to expand into products such as yogurt and cheese options, as well as plant-based meat. Corporate is for partners to help increase production.
“There will be many other types of protein meals that we are going to develop,” he said. “For each characteristic, you are talking about another type of protein isolation process, even another type of algae. ” tension, “she said. ” That is why we want collaborators of R.
Subsequently, the company is also intended for advertising and production partners to move from laboratory volumes to pilot scale volumes.
European ambition
Wang’s business was temporarily boosted through Enterprise Singapore, which then put him in touch with the FoodValley NL ecosystem, founded in Wageningen, the Netherlands. He then joined, and won, the MassChallenge Switzerland Sustainable Food Systems Challenge in the spring of 2021.
“Thanks to this pitch competition, I learned that at this stage, many potential customers, partners and long-term talented workers of Sophie’s Bionutrients are located in Europe, rather than in Asia or the United States,” he said. “Europeans are more receptive to the environmental and fitness benefits of plant-based foods and are also willing to pay a higher value for new, healthy foods. It is not surprising that many of the interested companies and investors are also located in Europe. “
Food Valley: the center of plant innovation
In fact, the Netherlands already has more than 250 plant protein corporations and is an ECU study hotspot for select proteins and microbial fermentation for food production. Many of those corporations are located in the Food Valley region, home to Wageningen University and Research, which has its own Plant-Based Meat Studies Lab and an algae studies and production center, AlgaeParc. Industry leaders such as Unilever, Upfield and Vivera Foodgroup have made primary investments in plant-based innovation in the region. NIZO, a think-center with the largest food-grade pilot plant in Europe, is also in the Food Valley.
“In each and every way, Food Valley is the plant-based commercial hub of Europe,” Wang said.
With this in mind, he implemented for a position in the acceleration program of StartLife, the Wageningen-based accelerator.
“We were inspired without delay by Eugene and his technology,” said Laura Thissen, StartLife’s chief operating officer. “Sophie’s bionutrients are perfectly suited to our agri-food community. Startups focused on select proteins and algae are here in The Food Valley, and he added StartLife alumni like Phycom, Fumi Ingredients and Time-Travelling Milkman. In fact, Eugene met us through one of our students, Willem Sodderland, founder of food startup Seamore, with whom he partnered. “
StartLife was introduced adapted rather than a place in the 12-week all-inclusive acceleration program.
Thissen said: “It’s not unusual for us to provide completely personalised support. We can set up their business in the Netherlands and link up with valued partners and interested investors. “
“StartLife temporarily demonstrated that it was well connected in the agribusiness space,” Wang said. “They have already led me to valuable trade relationships in the region.
He added that in combination with Kadans Science Partner, StartLife has also invited him to open one in its incubator area on the Wageningen campus.
“After everything I had learned about the region and the wonderful relationships that were established in this region in such a short time, I accepted it wholeheartedly,” he said.
Open to associations
For the future, the company aims to identify a Dutch legal entity and start producing a diversity of microalgae products with partners founded in Europe. Meanwhile, Wang is looking for partners for the scaling process, adding investors, R partners.
“This is an open call to all stakeholders in the Netherlands, from start-ups to corporations and investors,” Wang added. “I look forward to building long-term food production together. “
Photos and other photos can be downloaded from the following Dropbox account: https://www. dropbox. com/sh/9u8tv2y0t1qu02j/AACq5iBzN-L7nCbq7yRpFHT5a?dl=0
About Sophies bionutrients
Sophie’s Bionutrients, a B2B food generation company, is on a project to squander nature’s endless possibilities, repair our planet and eliminate food allergies. Its goal is to achieve this purpose by creating plant-based protein-rich options for meat and seafood microalgae, The Mother of All Animal and Plant Life In 2021, the company announced that it was the first food generation company in the world to use microalgae to expand sustainable choice and plant-based proteins one hundred percent with the basic vision that microalgae they are the superfood. of the future.
About StartLife
StartLife is the oldest and oldest agri-food startup accelerator in Europa. Su project is to boost agri-food and agricultural technology startups that shape a sustainable food system. StartLife provides support for business progression, mentoring, investment and a global network of startups, investors, companies and experts. Since 2010, the accelerator, co-founded through Wageningen University
About Kadans Science Partner
Kadans Science Partner’s project is to create and innovate ecosystems. Kadans does this by providing genuine bespoke real estate responses and giving tenants access to innovation ecosystems. corporations and organizations that need to contribute to a colorful agri-food network and a healthy living environment.
SOURCE Sophie’s bionutrients