ITASCA, ILL. —MeliBio, the parent company of plant-based honey startup Mellody Foods, has won Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition North America, Inc.’s (AHN) inaugural pitch competition — Next Generation Taste & Texture Technologies (NGT3) event. MeliBio competed against six other companies at the event, which was held on Feb. 5 at AHN’s corporate headquarters near Chicago.
“Our NGT3 competition was an opportunity to showcase the way we approach innovation at Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition and provide a forum for industry experts to consider future solutions,” said Ryan Smith, chief growth officer and executive vice president at Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition North America Inc. “Collaboration and curiosity are key elements of that. The finalists, panel of judges, and guests each brought a unique perspective, but with a collective desire to elevate the food and beverage industry. This mirrors our vision for innovation as an organization and made this event something to be proud of.”
The pitch competition, which was for entrepreneurs developing new functional proteins, flavor compounds, enzyme systems and next generation sweeteners, had companies undergo a five minute presentation and two minutes of questions from judges.
The finalists were scored based on originality, profitability and scalability, Ajinomoto said.
MeliBio, founded in 2020 by Darko Mandich and Aaron M. Schaller, is a food technology company that produces plant-based honey for restaurants and food companies.
It recently launched its plant-based honey brand Mellody Foods in 2023. The company uses plant science and precision fermentation to produce its honey “without the bees.”
“We’re obviously excited about the monetary prize, but we are especially looking forward to the mentorship from AHN that is included in the winning prize,” said Darko Mandich, co-founder and chief executive officer of MeliBio. “That will be invaluable as we continue to grow.”
The second-place prize of $10,000 went to Netherlands-based The Protein Brewery. The company, which was founded in 2020 by splitting off from BioscienZ, an industrial biotechnology company, develops new technologies from microbial fermentation.
The Protein Brewery said it uses a “zero-waste brewing process that turns sugars from starch rich crops into protein through fermentation.” Its main ingredient is called Fermotein.
The third-place prize of $5,000 went to Cellibre. Cellibre is a manufacturing technology company that “transforms cells into specialized, sustainable factories for large-scale production of essential products,” according to AHN.
Other finalists included: Alcheme Bio, a company that uses sensory analytics and enzymes to infuse robust, natural flavors into plant-based, precision fermented and cultivated foods; Equii, a startup using a proprietary approach to discover microbial proteins that may be used to ferment grains and produce high-protein grain flours; and Tasteomics, a company that “aims to improve human nutrition through taste innovation,” according to AHN.
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