Kalsec, Willow Biosciences partner on precision fermentation–derived ingredients for savory foods

Photo © AdobeStock.com/Piman Khrutmuang

Kalsec Inc. (Kalamazoo, MI), a supplier of taste and sensory, natural food protection, and natural colors and hops ingredients for food and drinks, is now partnering with Willow Biosciences Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) to develop new natural functional ingredients for savory foods. Kalsec will help Willow with the commercial execution to bring these ingredients to market.

Willow Biosciences uses precision fermentation to develop functional ingredients for the health and wellness, food and beverage, and personal care markets. According to the companies’ press release, “After a successful phase-one feasibility program that applied Willow’s BioOxi platform exceeded expectations, Kalsec has agreed to continue full development toward commercialization that includes additional R&D and scale-up work. Willow expects to continue generating revenue from research fees and milestones, aligning with strategic focus on near-term revenue generation on programs bringing commercial revenue in reasonable timeframes, with anticipated ongoing negotiation of commercial terms as the program advances.”

Roger Nahas, PhD, executive vice president of global R&D and chief innovation officer at Kalsec, added that “our team has identified a number of savory food and beverage ingredient targets where we can potentially engage with Willow to help bring the best products possible to Kalsec’s customers with a keen focus on market-leading innovation and sustainability.”