Nicole Astra:
Welcome back to Talking Plant Protein. I'm Nicole Astra.

Joey Thurman:
And I'm Joey Thurman. We're here in snowy, Chicago land.

Nicole Astra:
So much snow, guys, overnight. So it was a slow start to the day.

Joey Thurman:
Slow, like mentally, or just all over?

Nicole Astra:
Well, anytime you shovel for two hours and it takes an hour to get to school, mentally slow, as well.

Joey Thurman:
You got to workout in this morning?

Nicole Astra:
That's right. I got a very good workout in this morning.

Joey Thurman:
Okay. We're doing it in California and San Francisco-

Nicole Astra:
Yes. Perfect day to be talking about Future Food-Tech, because it's going to be sunny.

Joey Thurman:
I hope so. When we talk about whole cuts, it's all about new technology. Attendees at Future Food-Tech, San Francisco are going to sink their teeth into products of innovation as alternative chicken creators go head-to-head in a cook-off.

Nicole Astra:
I sat down with the three contestants for the cook-off, Umiami, Meati and Sundial, to hear their different approaches to food and attack allowing alternative proteins to land at the center of the plate. Take a look.

Martin Habfast:
So actually, we started the company with a simple observation, which is that when you look at the animal protein that people consume, it's largely whole muscle pieces, like a chicken breast for instance. But when you look at plant-based meat substitutes, well, there are mostly minced or chopped pieces. And the reason is actually quite easy because technologically it's so hard to recreate the complex fiber structure of meat using plant proteins. And current technologies like dried [inaudible 00:01:32] or high moisture [inaudible 00:01:34], they don't allow you to recreate those thick pieces and the complex fiber alignment. So within mind, what we basically did is we created a proprietary protein [texturization 00:01:45] technology that allows us to start with ingredients that are super simple, just like water and proteins, and to recreate that [fibersness 00:01:53] that people will love about meat.

Nicole Astra:
So anybody else want to weigh in on technology? Tyler, you're more building that whole cut experience, correct?

Tyler Huggins:
Yeah. So my co-founder and I, we come from an academic background. We both got our PhDs here in Boulder. So we're definitely techno-optimists and believe in the power of technology, but we really wanted to look at into nature for inspiration. So, or us, it was actually just harnessing a natural process, something that occurs in nature and then bringing indoors where we can make sure it's pure and clean and safe and highly nutritious. And it really just guide this natural process in order to produce a product that is of high value, high nutrition and provide the really, sort of delicious cooking and eating experience.

Nicole Astra:
Jessica, how about at Sundial?

Jessica Schwabach:
First of all, I really like that both of the other two mentioned, focusing on simple ingredients and trying to take things more or less back to basics with the starting material. I think that's a super important change for the industry that we're all hoping to emphasize in the future.

Jessica Schwabach:
For Sundial, one of the things that we're exploring is the ability to recreate more aspects of the organoleptic experience that make people truly enjoy eating meat. So going back to my very specific example, because it's all I think about these days are chicken wings. One of the most important aspects of eating chicken wings is for the consumers is often the feeling of the skin, especially the crispiness of the skin. There's actually a chicken wing eating contest in New York that focuses very specifically on which chicken wing has the best skin. And it's something that plant-based meats don't have yet the ability to go beyond just as Martin was saying, the coming meat texture and add in these other aspects that make meat truly enjoyable and something that consumers crave and want over and over again.

Jessica Schwabach:
So we're trying to add back in these sort of complex textures and layers that give the consumer when they're taking one bite, a variety of experiences that are more interesting.

Nicole Astra:
So these three are essentially competitors, but what I love about this, particularly what FFT does is that networking and collaboration. So everyone really does work together towards that sustainable future. And we get to see that from the host seat.

Joey Thurman:
It was nice looking at that and seeing how they're talking about different textures and plant-based meats that are easier to do as far as like ground meat, if you will.

Nicole Astra:
Yeah.

Joey Thurman:
So kind of strange to say that-

Nicole Astra:
Where the technology was-

Joey Thurman:
Yeah. And then the skin and how they're trying to make it crunchier, and it'll be really interesting to see what they come up with.

Nicole Astra:
Yeah. And what's next. What's next is exciting.

Joey Thurman:
What's next? Well also going down at FFT, San Francisco are the innovation challenges. This is a chance for startups to bring their very best before a global audience and the winners partner with the most influential names in the industry.

Nicole Astra:
Givaudan is looking for ingredients that support energy, immunity and sleep and Danone North America is searching for improvements in the texture and melting properties of plant-based cheeses.

Emilie Fromentin:
Hello, I'm Emilie Fromentin. I'm leading an Explore Group within science and technology at Givaudan, that's focused on health and nutrition. We are very excited to participate in this challenge, which with Future Food-Tech. We are looking to partner with startups that will have developed technologies or ingredients, natural ingredients focused on improving immunity, sleep and energy. We know that those health benefits are a primary concern for consumers today who want to stay healthy, who want to strive and who want to sleep well at night and have an efficient and ideal wellbeing on their day-to-day life.

Joey Thurman:
Do you eat plant-based cheeses?

Nicole Astra:
I have only tried a few and they've come a long way, so I need to get back on it.

Joey Thurman:
Yeah, I have one that's an almond-base and it's the cheddar, if you will. And I find in chilies and things that get pretty hot, it melts and it has that consistency and it's pretty good. The other ones a little rubbery.

Nicole Astra:
Well, we tease that it's the holy grail because to achieve that gooey texture again, but a lot of that is coming a long way.

Joey Thurman:
Yeah, [ooey-gooey 00:06:10] texture, goodness. Of course stay tuned to Talking Plant Protein after the conference where we will continue the conversation with challenge finalists and winners. But for now check out this clip from Irina Gerry, CMO of Change Foods and the challenges surrounding plant-based cheese.

Irina Gerry:
As much progresses have made with plant-based cheese, there's still quite a significant gap in what we call performance. Lots of plant-based cheeses just do not stretch or melt or have that gooey texture that we know and love about cheese. And what we know is that milk protein specifically casein, is that key ingredient, that key unlocked to get animal free cheese to behave the way we all want it to behave. And what we're doing at Change Foods is we've found a way to create this casein protein, which is identical to what you would get from a cow except without the cow. And we do that by using the process called precision fermentation. We are using microorganisms to create those exact proteins, and then we blend them with other plant-based ingredients in order to create cheese that truly delivers on expectations without the impact on the planet.

Nicole Astra:
Irina is one of dozens of experts coming together at the March Summit as FFT returns to the States. Rachel Mackie, Senior Business Development Manager at Rethink Events, let us know what else to expect at Future Food-Tech.

Rachel Mackie:
So we are really delighted to be welcoming the industry back to San Francisco for the first time in three years with Future Food-Tech, it will be on March the 24th and 25th. We're expecting the entire ecosystem to be represented around 800 to a thousand people taking part in person and lots more virtually as well. We've got lots of interactive elements planned. So we've got a taste lab and we've got interactive breakout sessions. We will see the finalists about innovation challenges with Givaudan and Danone, pitch their solutions and lots of networking, really high level networking taking in place as well. Everybody from the industry will be there. And we really hope that you can join us too. If you'd like more information or if you would like to register, then please head over to futurefoodtechsf.com

Joey Thurman:
FFT also just announced the Blue Food Innovation Summit, investing in Sustainable Aquaculture are for Protein Security and Ocean Health. It will be this June in London, stay tuned and we will bring you more details as they unfold. That's it for now, I'm Joey Thurman.

Nicole Astra:
And I'm Nicole Astra. We'll see you next time on Talking Plant Protein.