Elo Life Systems begins development of natural alternative to sugar
US – Elo Life Systems, a biotechnology company that focuses on human health and wellness through food, is developing a plant-based, natural sweetener, that provides antioxidants from more than 20 easy-to-grow fruits and vegetables, such as watermelon and cucumber.
The startup, which recently secured US$24.5M Series A funding, expects to launch the product in 2025. The company intends to grow its raw material supplies over the next two seasons.
While other businesses practice molecular farming with commodity crops such as soy or wheat, Elo’s advances lie in the types of plants and the high number of genes it use.
The company employs machine learning and data analytics to work with up to a dozen genes in more complex plants to create more intricate ingredients.
Elo’s CEO Todd Rands told Food Ingredients First that the artificial sweetener will be 300x sweeter than sugar, with zero calories, and has a clean taste profile that outperforms other sweeteners.
“Given the sweetness intensity of our sweetener and the amounts needed, it will ultimately cost less than sugar to achieve the same level of sweetness in the final product,” he elaborated.
“This cost-effectiveness is enabled by our unique molecular farming platform, which produces our sweetener as a co-product in an existing crop system.”
Rands added that despite the cheapness of sugar, consumers don’t consider sugar to be a viable option due to its negative health impacts. It’s driving them to look for healthier, more natural options.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Americans eat and drink too many added sugars, which can contribute to health problems such as weight gain and obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.
The CEO pointed out that more than 66% identify sugar as a health issue, and 72% are actively reducing their sugar intake as health fears reach a tipping point.
Interestingly, Rands noted that sugar content is the top item consumers look for on ingredient labels and there is a need for the food industry to give them the sweetness they crave without increasing the cost of the foods they enjoy.
“CPG companies will use our sweetener to reduce sugar, artificial sweeteners, and poor-performing natural sweeteners in their products. We’ve produced our sweetener in more than 20 different fruits and vegetables to determine the most efficient biofactory crop,” Rands explained.
The company said its sweetener will come in two formats: a liquid form from watermelon juice and a powder form of sugar beets.
The company is also focused on efforts to protect and increase the productivity of staple crops, such as our work with Dole on the creation of a fungal-resistant banana to save the fruit from extinction.
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