Fermented Protein Supplier Erupts as a CPG Company
Food technology company Nature’s Fynd thinks the plant-based market is ripe for disruption — and that the answer lies inside a volcano. Previously known as Sustainable Bioproducts, the company recently rebranded as Nature’s Fynd to turn its nutrient-packed fermented protein — found in Yellowstone National Park’s ancient ‘supervolcano’ — into everyday plant-based food and drink products.
Cofounder and CSO Mark Kozubal discovered the protein in 2009 as a research assistant on a NASA-funded expedition studying life in extreme environments. The hero protein, dubbed ‘Fy,’ is derived from a microbe found in the supervolcano’s geothermal springs and is a “resilient, thrifty little bugger,” CEO and cofounder Thomas Jonas said — one with great potential as a protein source. While the market may be crowded, the company believes Fy’s nutritional profile stands out, containing all nine essential amino acids, dietary fiber, calcium and vitamins and holding promise for use in alternative meat and dairy products, protein drinks and powders.
Fueled by Kozubal’s discovery, the team launched Sustainable Bioproducts as an ingredient supplier in 2016, but decided that a CPG brand is the best way to bring the protein to market.
“We want to be a consumer brand because we think the best way to tell the story about what Fy is, is through a brand,” Jonas said. “We’re better positioned than anyone else to do that because we [found] it.”
Nature’s Fynd has affirmed that Fy is Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) based on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s guidelines. Fy is grown through a new fermentation process combining biology and agriculture that uses less water and land than traditional farming, Jonas explained. Receiving the certification is key; Impossible Foods received GRAS notification for its heme protein (which makes the burger ‘bleed’) right before it entered retail.
The Chicago-based company will produce Fy and use co-packers for its own line of branded products. Additional product partnerships could mimic those with other branded ingredients, like Nutrasweet for example, with Fy called out as a star ingredient, Jonas said. There’s opportunity in foodservice too, he said, “as long as they help build the brand.” It’s a strategy other plant-based protein alternatives have used, such as Beyond Meat and Daiya.
But for now, Nature’s Fynd will try to work with retailers to help determine an initial retail launch.
“If we’re successful with the branding people will be looking for that and would be happy to find it in a bolognese pasta sauce, for instance,” Jonas explained. “We think it has a lot of value that way.”
Investors agree with the strategy. The company closed an $80 million round of funding in March. Generation Investment Management (co-founded by former United States VP Al Gore and Goldman Sachs’ asset management head David Blood) and climate change-focused Breakthrough Energy Ventures (co-chaired by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates) took part in the round, along with 1955 Capital, Mousse Partners, ADM Ventures and Danone Manifesto Ventures.
As Sustainable Bioproducts, the company last year closed a $33 million Series A round. To grow its operations and technology, the company this month opened a 35,000 square-foot Chicago-based facility, where most of its 55 employees work. (It also operates a Bozeman, Montana-based R&D facility.) Despite the unpredictability of COVID-19’s impact, the company expects to employ 100 workers by the end of 2020, Jonas said. One big push is marketing, Jonas said, having already hired former P&G North America, Publicis Group and Arc Worldwide executive Karuna Rawal as CMO. Rawal told NOSH the brand’s “natural origin” is a large part of its appeal, along with versatility, healthfulness and sustainability, which all play a role in storytelling.
“We’ll flex and adjust those depending on the channel of communications,” she said.
Addressing climate change is key, Lila Preston, co-head of Generation Investment Management’s Growth Equity strategy, said in a release, calling Nature’s Fynd “one of the most scalable platforms to drive true food system sustainability.”
Even during a global pandemic, Jonas hopes the brand’s founding as an “explorer company” can serve as inspiration.
“It’s a hope story — life finds a way and continues,” he said. “In these times we’re going through these things matter.”
