PLANT BASED DAIRY ALTERNATIVES
Chr. Hansen
Development of sustainable, innovative foods
Chr. Hansen has joined MISTA,
a California-based start-up
optimizer focusing on the development
of sustainable, innovative
foods. With this collaboration,
Chr. Hansen wants to further develop
fermented plant-based solutions
that help customers match this
trend, and help create a sustainable
and resilient global food system that
can feed a growing population.
When it comes to dairy alternatives,
consumers are looking for
experiences that provide the same
health and delicious taste profile
as associated with traditional dairy
products. Fermented plant-based
foods – an industry that is evolving
rapidly – can offer excellent options.
Driven by a global focus and concern
for sustainable food production,
the plant-based foods industry
has gone from being a relatively
niche market to more mainstream.
Today, consumers all over the world
are enjoying the innovative options
for a flexitarian or plant-based diet.
In the past 12 months, 160 new
brands of fermented plant-based
foods have been launched. In the
US, plant-based milks now account
for more than 10% of the volume of
drinking milks.
At MISTA, Chr. Hansen joins
world-class food players Givaudan,
Danone, Ingredion and Mars, to work
with a selected cohort of around 20
start-up companies. It will also collaborate
with a range of service
partners, venture financers and renowned
universities such as UC Davis
and UC Berkeley. MISTA brings
together the power and expertise of
large companies operating in different
segments of the value chain, and
the agility and fast-paced innovation
spirit of start-ups.
Chr. Hansen will invest in fermentation capability including equipment
and application staff on site to run collaborative projects and to conduct
its own internal research (photo: Chr. Hansen)
Co-creating solutions
for a healthier planet
The MISTA premises in San Francisco
house a test kitchen, pilot scale
production and laboratory facilities,
as well as office and function space.
Chr. Hansen will invest in fermentation
capability including equipment
and application staff on site to run
collaborative projects and to conduct
its own internal research.
“Our foray represents a bold new
approach to exploring close-to-market
innovation using a tailored ecosystem.
It will allow us to participate
in building new ideas with innovative
start-ups whilst leveraging the power
of large and established ingredient
and end-product developers. This will
accelerate the innovation, and also
increase the chance of success, since
all parties are working together for
the same goal – ultimately co-creating
solutions that address the health
and wellness of both people and the
planet,” says Ross Crittenden, senior
director Commercial Development
for Plant-based Dairy Alternatives at
Chr. Hansen.
Rapid prototyping of
sustainable, innovative
foods
MISTA provides a platform for rapid
and focused innovation with an in-built
path for commercialization. “The application
work will be plugged into Chr.
Hansen’s global network of application
centers to ensure efficient dissemination
of learnings both ways. It will give
us an opportunity to run rapid prototyping
directly with potential customers
in collaboration with best-in-class
ingredient suppliers. Working closely
with the other partners will help us to
accelerate our research, and ultimately
our product development, within the
exciting space of fermented plantbased.
Chr. Hansen already has a number
of solutions in this category, but we
are keen to offer even more options to
our customers. We also look forward to
supporting the other members’ aims of
developing exciting, tasty, healthy and
sustainable foods, and gaining valuable
knowledge and commercialization
opportunities along the way,” concludes
Ross Crittenden, who will manage Chr.
Hansen’s participation in MISTA.
September 2020 ¦ international-dairy.com · 5
/international-dairy.com
