🌱 Redefining Protein Production with Pioneering Plant Genetics

Protein consumption is rapidly on the rise. And it is set to double by 2050.

But scaling novel proteins isn’t without its challenges. 

From sourcing specialized raw materials to building new manufacturing processes and scalable distribution networks, the complexity of developing new value chains can slow down the transition.

Enter Alpine Bio. A molecular farming company transforming plants into the world’s most scalable and efficient bio-factories. 

By using plants like soybeans and "teaching" them to produce non-plant proteins, Alpine Bio leverages the global farming and food infrastructure already in place. 

“This approach allows us to harness nature as a powerful and novel resource engine, capable of producing scalable commodity ingredients in ways that mirror the reach and efficiency of traditional agriculture. By doing so, we’re ushering in a new era of resource-efficient farming and sustainable protein manufacturing, paving the way for a food system with minimal environmental impact and maximal scalability,” shares Magi Richani, Founder and CEO of Alpine Bio

From Soy to Slice in 4 Steps       

Soybeans are the most efficient natural source of protein on Earth, with protein comprising 36-43% of their total content.

“Soybeans are remarkably adept at producing protein, making them an ideal foundation for our platform. Our platform has four key pillars, all centered around this exceptional plant,” explains Magi.

Here’s how it works

• First, Alpine Bio optimizes the plant’s genetics, enabling it to produce novel, non-plant proteins. 

• Second, their expert farming team maximizes crop yield within a rigorous, closed-loop system designed for sustainability, efficiency, and security. 

• Third, their downstream processing team purifies these target proteins from the rest of the plant material. 

• Finally, their food development team utilizes these purified ingredients to create innovative food products. 

Magi tells us that together, these four pillars form an end-to-end platform that provides both the infrastructure and operational precision needed to bring a wide range of new ingredients to market. 

With additional products in active R&D, this platform allows Alpine Bio to continually expand the possibilities of protein production, offering the bio-manufacturing community an entirely new and novel way to produce commodity ingredients.

Unlocking the Potential of Molecular Farming 

For the last 40 years biomanufacturing has been dominated by two major technology platforms, fermentation and cell-cultures. 

“While these technologies have ushered in our modern age of biotechnology bringing high value-ingredients and materials to market, they still fall shortwhen it comes to scale and commoditizing ingredients for the greatest levels of accessibility,” explains Magi. 

Can molecular farming address the challenges faced by plant based and fermentation technologies? Alpine Bio thinks so.

Collaboration for Commercialization

Given that Alpine Bio are working within a pre-existing farming system, they pattern all across our value-chain. 

Working with soybean farmers to provide value-added crops, to working with pre-existing processing facilities, their ability to tap into a pre-existing infrastructure network helps to reduce their CAPEX significantly in scaling our processes up for commercialization. 

Next Up, HackSummit

Magi will join us at the HackSummit in New York on December 12-13th, for a Fireside Chat to dive into their latest milestones and next steps to scale up of their proprietary biomanufacturing platform to redefine protein production.