NEW TECH FOODS

Food Founders Studio has closed its initial funding round of CHF 1.2 million (approx. $1.5 million) and unveiled its first venture, a plant-based flavour improvement technology developed with a European university partner.

The capital will support the studio’s mission to commercialise breakthrough food technologies currently trapped in European university labs. The funding round was led by a consortium of private investors, including a prominent Swiss family office acting as anchor investor.

The inaugural venture targets off-flavours in legumes, a common issue in plant-based products. The proprietary process improves taste and cuts formulation costs. The company says it outperforms existing solutions.

Alexandre Morel, co-founder and CTO of Food Founders Studio, said: “Our inaugural venture tackles one of the plant-based industry’s most significant obstacles: legumes’ off-flavours that prevent mass market adoption. The proprietary technology, developed through our first university partnership, offers a scalable, cost-effective solution that significantly improves taste while reducing formulation costs, more than any competing solution we’ve seen so far.”

“This technology addresses exactly what the industry desperately needs: better taste,” noted the venture’s CEO, who will be formally introduced in the coming weeks. “By solving the off-flavour challenge, a problem known to all up to the consumers and yet never truly solved despite many claims, we’re enabling food manufacturers to create products that can win on deliciousness, not just sustainability credentials.”

Robert Boer, investment director at Food Founders Studio and former investment director at Blue Horizon, added: “What is unique about our venture studio model is the systematic approach to de-risking food tech innovation. This model addresses the fundamental disconnect between breakthrough university research and commercial viability that has plagued food tech for years, in a way that delivers both meaningful returns for investors and scalable impact for our food system.”