2nd Nature Launches A.I. Platform Designed to I.D. Reusable Ingredients

Brad Avery Jul. 16, 2025 at 9:50 AM

Can A.I. help reduce food waste? Ingredient tech company 2nd Nature sure thinks so.

The business launched yesterday a new proprietary A.I. platform called AgWaste Portal, which seeks to find new ways of converting food waste into upcycled ingredients.

The platform, the company said, can analyze input materials in order to find “functional compounds, including novel molecules from the inedible parts of fruits, cereals, and vegetables, as well as post fermentation slurries,” which can later be converted into usable ingredients.

“Our A.I. platform is a game-changer because it allows us to unlock the full potential of food processing leftovers and turn them into high-quality ingredients,” said 2nd Nature co-founder and CEO Effendi Leonard in a release. “Not only does this technology help reduce waste, but it also provides a cost-effective solution for food and beverage, home and personal care, and health and wellness manufacturers.”

“The food system is broken,” Leonard said later in a LinkedIn post. “We’re not tweaking around the edges — we’re building the engine to replace it. Food, wellness, home care — your ingredients don’t need to come from pristine fields and chemical reactors. They can come from the waste stream.”

While new generative A.I. tools have been hyped up for inclusion in everything from consumer electronics to Coca-Cola over the past couple of years, ingredient and formula identification has emerged as one of the most practical uses of the new technology in the food and beverage sector.

Brands like NotCo – with its proprietary Giuseppe platform which identifies plant-based ingredients that can better replicate animal products – to suppliers and formulators such as Blue Pacific have embraced A.I. for its ability to streamline R&D.

AgWaste Portal appears to be similarly positioned, but with a specific emphasis on sustainability and upcycling. For example, the company’s demo video shows a user asking the platform to “find me an umami molecule in spent noodles.”