March 1, 2019

Boston-based biotech leader Ginkgo Bioworks announced the launch of Motif Ingredients, a food tech startup focused on the development of next-generation alternative proteins and other ingredients for global food companies.

“We started putting Motif together around February or March of 2018,” Jason Kakoyiannis, business development at Ginkgo and a director of Motif, told Tech Crunch. “The germination of the business had its inception earlier though, from interacting with companies in the food and beverage scene.”

The spin-off coincides with a $90 million Series A funding round backed by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a leading investment fund focused on climate issues, and backed by some of the top billionaires in the world including Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg, Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos, Jack Ma, and Vinod Khosla. Other investors include two of the biggest global food companies -Louis Dreyfus Company and Fonterra – and Viking Global Ventures. With this capital at its back, and powered by Ginkgo Biowork’s bioengineering platform, Motif Ingredients will create novel food solutions that diversify consumer choices without compromising nutrition or taste profiles.

Along with the launch, it was announced that Jonathan McIntyre, former head of R&D with Indigo Agriculture, and former senior vice president of R&D at PepsiCo, will lead the new company, which will be headquartered at Ginkgo’s Boston Seaport facility.

“Sustainability and accessible nutrition are among the biggest challenges facing the food industry today,” said Jonathan McIntyre, PhD, CEO of Motif. “Consumers are demanding mindful food options, but there’s a reigning myth that healthy and plant-based foods must come at a higher price, or cannot taste or function like the animal-based foods they aim to replicate.”

To achieve this, Motif is leveraging biotechnology and fermentation to not only develop plant-based alternatives, but to engineer dozens of proteins derived from eggs, dairy, and meat that won’t risk expectations of taste or nutrition.

“Biotechnology and fermentation is our answer, and Motif will be key to propelling the next food revolution with affordable, sustainable and accessible ingredients that meet the standards of chefs, food developers, and visionary brands,” said McIntyre.

Demand for alternative protein foods such as meat alternatives and plant-based beverages soared by 17 percent last year, according to the company. Such climbing demand has called for food companies to rapidly innovate new ingredients, however, companies are facing challenges in maintaining taste and nutrition at mass market scale.

“To help feed the world and meet consumers’ evolving food preferences, traditional and complementary nutritional sources need to co-exist. As a global dairy nutrition company, we see plant- and fermentation-produced nutrition as complementary to animal protein, and in particular cows’ milk,” says Judith Swales, chief operating officer, Fonterra Global Consumer and Foodservice Business. “Our partnership with Motif enables us to be part of this emerging area and help meet the nutritional needs of the world’s growing population.”

Through a process similar to brewing beer, Motif will use fermentation with genetically engineered yeasts and bacteria to create vital new food ingredients including vitamins, amino acids, enzymes, and flavors. The process of identifying new fermented ingredients, and particularly new proteins that have been historically derived from animal sources, necessitates deep resources and experience.

With Ginkgo, which will maintain a minority stake in the company, Motif will be able to accelerate the R&D behind such ingredient advances, resulting in the same price, taste, and quality currently found on the market. Furthermore, food companies will be able to outsource their costly and time consuming R&D needs to Motif as a trusted innovator and supplier.

“Innovative or disruptive solutions are key to responding to changing consumer demand and to addressing the challenge of feeding a growing world population sustainably,” said Kristen Eshak Weldon, Head of Food Innovation & Downstream Strategy at Louis Dreyfus Company. “In this sense, we are excited to partner with Motif, convinced that its next-generation ingredients will play a vital role.”

-Lynda Kiernan