SAN FRANCISCO — At times, attendees at the Future Food Tech conference held March 21-22 in San Francisco may have been skeptical of the futuristic discussions taking place during the program and at the expo site. At other times, it all came together and made sense. And even better – it made sense in the moment.
“Food should be delicious and nutritious,” said Isabelle Esser, director of research and innovation, quality and food safety at Danone SA, Paris. “Technology needs scale and impact. It’s all about positive nutrition, and that requires collaboration.
That’s largely what Elo Life Systems, of Durham, North Carolina, strives to accomplish. Elo Life’s molecular farming platform produces ingredients that may be difficult to harvest from natural sources and cannot be synthesized by artificial or other techniques. The company produces easy-to-grow crops as biofactories for ingredients.
“Our mission is to unlock the power of nature to make consumers’ favorite foods more delicious, healthier and kinder to the planet,” said Todd Rands, president and CEO of Elo Life Systems. “It’s about making food more nutrient dense, not more calorie dense, as our food system has been since the second half of the 20th century.
“We use AI (artificial intelligence) and proprietary algorithms to gain deeper insights into native genomes, genes and traits. Innovation in healthy, sustainable eating is desperately needed, and our collective future depends on creating new solutions that don’t exist today.
The company’s first product is a sweetener derived from monk fruit that will be launched in 2026. Rands said the company is working to produce various bioactive ingredients and new proteins.
Algorithms allow machines to learn and make decisions. Otherwise known as generative artificial intelligence, this technology “turns possibilities into reality,” said Lanette Shaffer Werner, director of innovation, technology and quality at General Mills, Minneapolis.
“For us, AI is a member of the team. It’s like having an intern on the team, who contributes like every other player on the team,” said Shaffer Werner. “The AI contributes to our final decision. We always keep the consumer at the heart of everything we do.”
Lanette Shaffer Werner, head of innovation, technology and quality at General Mills. Photo: General MillsShe explained how AI is an active player behind the scenes and how AI allows us to “have one eye on today and one eye on the horizon.” For example, before a new product is released to the test market, we can work with digital concepts generated by AI,” said Shaffer Werner.
Another valuable use of AI at General Mills is reviewing scientific literature. The company works with the scite program to get answers to all types of food innovation problems, from ingredients to food safety to yield.
“There are billions of scientific articles, many of which contain ideas and solutions to the problems we face,” Shaffer Werner said. “With AI, we can focus our resources on ‘doing’ rather than unraveling Pandora’s box.”
Brightseed, San Francisco, uses AI to discover bioactive compounds in nature and develop healthy food ingredients. The company served its new bioactive fiber in yogurt parfaits at Future Food Tech.
The fibrous ingredient was developed in partnership with Manitoba Harvest, Winnipeg, Man. It is a fibrous solution with multiple benefits developed from recycled humpback hulls. The product is unique in the fiber market because it contains two bioactive phenolic compounds that research shows can strengthen the intestinal lining to help maintain healthy intestinal barrier function.
“Bioactives are today the unsung heroes of proactive health. The majority of people do not consume enough to reap their full benefits,” said Sofia Elizondo, co-founder and COO of Brightseed. “Now that our AI Forager is driving the discovery and understanding of bioactives at an unprecedented pace, our mission at Brightseed is to transform these insights into accessible and powerful wellness products across the world. »
Israeli startup Celleste-Bio uses a proprietary combination of biotechnology and AI to produce cocoa ingredients. Precision fermentation eliminates dependence on cocoa cultivation and will help ensure an unchanging cocoa supply, independent of climatic conditions, close to production sites and a superior final product.
This is accomplished without genetic modification or manipulation by extracting cocoa cells from cocoa pods and growing them in a controlled environment with water and nutrients. This is a continuous cycle that repeats, without the need to open another capsule.
“We want to offer people the pleasure and health that comes from high-quality cocoa products, while eliminating the sustainable production challenges we face today in cocoa production,” said Hanne Volpin, co-founder and chief technology officer.
AI helped Olipop, Oakland, Calif., grow its subscription platform by more than 35%. The company makes healthier sodas, without necessarily distributing them, according to Olipop. While traditional sodas contain high levels of sugar, each can of Olipop contains 35 to 45 calories, 2 to 5 grams of natural sugars and 9 grams of prebiotic plant fiber.
“Americans have enjoyed soda for over 125 years. It has deep emotional and cultural resonance for consumers, and the category has become intertwined with our daily lives,” said Ben Goodwin, co-founder and CEO. “Our goal has always been to offer a product that can truly fill the space occupied by traditional sodas while contributing to the overall well-being of consumers. »
Goodwin championed the concept of “ultra-processing,” which has become the latest target in the world of food policing. The reality is that the future of food depends on ultra-processing.
“Ultra-processing is required to make the fibrous ingredient and put it into our drink,” Goodwin said. “Rather than trying to tell consumers they can’t have soda, we’re making it better for them. Olipop is more than “not harmful”. This has an advantage.
Providing advantage in the form of sustainable practices was also a recurring theme at Future Food Tech. However, sustainability cannot be the No. 1 selling point, said Jack Bobo, director of the Food Systems Institute at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. First comes taste, nutrition and price.
“Consumers are not changing their eating habits to save their lives. Why would they do this to save the planet? » said Bobo.
One Good Thing, from Hertfordshire, England, believes it hits all the marks – taste, nutrition and price – with the added benefit of sustainability. The start-up has produced a range of packaging-free oat and protein bars in a bid to reduce plastic waste for on-the-go snackers. Each bar is made from raw, cold-pressed ingredients coated with a film of edible beeswax, which dries enough to hold and protect the contents, but is thin and soft enough to chew easily.
The beeswax coating replaces traditional plastic or paper packaging. Each bar is durable and the packaging is leak-proof. The only packaging is the cardboard boxes in which the bars are delivered, made from 70% recycled materials and 100% recyclable.
“The idea for One Good Thing came to me when I was riding my bike and saw the large volume of snack packaging. So I challenged myself to think about how I could solve the problem of people snacking on the go,” said Mike Bedford, founder. “We like to think of our bars as if we were eating an apple. When you’re ready to eat one, you can just give it a quick rinse and pop it in. It’s as simple as that. Our innovation doesn’t just limit plastic waste. This removes it completely.
