The 2024 MISTA Growth Hack’s theme will be biomass fermentation, according to MISTA, the top food innovation platform in the world and a Givaudan company. In addition, the 14 early-stage food technology firms that were chosen to take part have also been revealed.

To provide integrated solutions for the delivery of more nutrient-dense, cost-effective, and sustainably produced food, the practical program brings together specialists from throughout the corporate global food system. The Good Food Institute (GFI), Accenture, and SOSV are the MISTA Growth Hack 2024 presenting partners.

“The food system needs new solutions to feed the 8.5 billion people that will populate the Earth in 2030. Fermentation biomass is an approach that grows microbial cells (think microalgae, fungi, yeast, or bacteria) that are packed with healthy nutrients, including proteins, fibers, vitamins, and minerals. These cells are fed simple nutrients and multiply in the controlled environment of a fermenter (for example, brewing beer). By leveraging this millennia-old technology, we can produce vast amounts of nutritious, affordable, and sustainable ingredients that can improve the nutritional and sensory performance of foods, beverages, and snacks,” Céline Schiff-Deb, Chief Science Officer for MISTA, mentioned.

The 2024 Start-ups and Challenge

The participating start-ups were selected because each is building unique technologies to leverage the benefits of a broad range of organisms, approaches, and carbon feedstocks (e.g., sugar, agricultural side streams, and CO2). The 2024 cohort for the MISTA Growth Hack consists of 14 leading start-ups from across the globe: Arborea, California Cultured, Calysta, EQUII, Ingrediome, MOA Foodtech, Nutrition From Water, Revyve, Sempera Organics, Solar Foods, Solmeyea, Superbrewed Foods, The Better Meat Company and The Protein Brewery.

A technical team will be assigned to each start-up to create a food or beverage prototype that showcases the advantages of their star components in practical and delectable applications. Experts from various major corporate MISTA members, such as AAK, Buhler, CJ CheilJedang, Danone, Givaudan, Ingredion, JPG Resources, and SIG, will distinctively comprise each technical team. These groups will collaborate to create a unique and disruptive method that aims to upend traditional development processes by combining the knowledge and skill sets of their respective organizations.

“MISTA’s cross-value chain ecosystem is curated to connect innovators and opportunities, delivering new potential to evolve people, teams, and companies. The MISTA Growth Hack demonstrates how we collaborate to bring the largest players in the food system together with an amazing array of early-stage companies, bringing new ingredients and technologies to life. The experiences and reflections emerging from the MISTA Growth Hack transform how we integrate these new ingredients and technologies to deliver solutions that nourish and delight people and the planet,” Scott May, Founder and Head of MISTA, added.

Over the next few months, the separate teams will electronically convene to hone concepts and strategies. To complete the projects, each team will physically convene in early November at either the Givaudan Zurich Innovation Centre in Kemptthal, Switzerland, or the MISTA Innovation Centre in San Francisco.

The result of this cooperative endeavor will be a two-day event on November 19 and 20, 2024, in San Francisco. Experts from all around the world will come together for a technical symposium hosted by MISTA on the first day. They will talk about issues that will draw attention to chances to hasten the acceptance of food items made through biomass fermentation. The results from each of the 14 discovery teams, showcasing the distinctive technologies of the different start-ups, will be presented on the second day of the event. After the presentations and talks, everyone in attendance will be able to taste the food that each team has produced.