Motif FoodWorks Gains Exclusive Access to Transformative Plant-Based Technologies

Motif to expand work with Professor Alejandro Marangoni and the University of Guelph Ontario to create plant-based cheese that stretches and melts, and plant-based meat with healthier, marbleized fat

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Motif FoodWorks

May 13, 2021, 09:00 ET

BOSTON, May 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Motif FoodWorks, the food technology company on a mission to make plant-based food taste better and more nutritious, today announced it has gained exclusive access to two technologies with the potential to transform the consumer experience with plant-based meat and cheese. Motif will have exclusive access to these food technologies, which hold the promise to address two of the most significant challenges in plant-based foods: achieving melt and stretch in plant-based cheese, and healthier fat that marbleizes in plant-based meat.

Through this expanded collaboration, Motif will have exclusive access to:

Extrudable fat technology: Unique oleogel technology that replicates animal fat, allowing for more authentic fat textures, such as marbling, in plant-based meats—acquired from Coasun.
Prolamin technology: Uses plant-based ingredients to improve the texture of plant-based cheese, allowing it to melt, bubble, and stretch like animal-derived dairy—licensed from the University of Guelph.

Motif's move to acquire exclusive commercial rights to these technologies is just the first exciting development from the company's ongoing collaboration with the University of Guelph in Ontario, and Dr. Alejandro Marangoni, founder of Coasun, Inc., and Tier I Canada Research Chair in Food, Health and Aging at Guelph. Stefan Baier, Motif's Head of Food Science, will continue to lead the ongoing collaboration, which kicked off in 2019.

Many of the underlying challenges in creating crave-worthy plant-based meats and cheeses stem from the difficulty of replicating the look, feel and eating experience of animal products. Current options on the market rely heavily on saturated fats, which negatively impact a product's nutritional composition. Through its relationship with Coasun, Inc. and the University of Guelph, Motif will have exclusive access to two advanced ingredient design tools that will solve critical industry challenges and close key deltas in taste, texture and nutrition.

"Today's plant-based meat and cheese alternatives lack the pleasure associated with eating the real thing. We want to change that at Motif," said Baier. "Leveraging two exclusive technologies through our collaboration with Coasun and the University of Guelph, Motif will enable performance in plant-based foods previously unheard of—from plant-based cheese on a sandwich or pizza that actually stretches and melts to plant-based meat with marbleized fat just like a ribeye or a NY strip."

"Collaborating with the entire R&D team at Motif FoodWorks has been a rewarding experience, and we're excited to further explore the implications our advanced plant-based technology will have on the industry together," said Marangoni.

Further details on the technologies — including pictures and videos of the plant-based cheese technology in action — can be found on Motif's blog, How FoodWorks.

Motif's renewed collaboration with Guelph and Marangoni comes on the heels of the company's grand opening of a state-of-the-art 10,600 sq. ft. office and lab space in the Boston Seaport and continued expansion of their leadership team. In addition to partnering with third-party experts and researchers across the industry, Motif leverages a number of new scientific approaches—from precision fermentation to materials science—and applies them in new holistic ways to generate individual ingredients, protein systems, whole formula solutions and unique products to move the plant-based food industry forward.

About Motif FoodWorks
Motif FoodWorks is a food technology company working to make plant-based foods better tasting, more nutritious and so desirable that people actually crave them. Motif is pioneering a whole science approach that combines insights and technology in novel ways to get new, better answers to critical plant-based food challenges, benefiting everyone and our planet. For more information, visit www.madewithmotif.com.

About The University of Guelph
The University of Guelph is one of Canada's top comprehensive and research-intensive universities. We are known as Canada's Food University. Established in 1964, the University enjoys a reputation for innovation and excellence dating back more than 150 years to its founding colleges: Ontario Veterinary College, Ontario Agricultural College and Macdonald Institute. Today's seven colleges conduct leading-edge teaching and research in the physical and life sciences, business, arts, social sciences, and agricultural and veterinary sciences. The University of Guelph, and everyone who studies here, explores here, teaches here and works here, is committed to a simple, shared purpose: to Improve Life.

About Prof. Marangoni
Alejandro Marangoni is a Professor and Tier I Canada Research Chair in Food, Health and Aging at the University of Guelph, Canada. His work concentrates on the physical properties of lipidic materials in foods, cosmetics and biolubricants. A prolific scientist with over 400 research papers, 85 book chapters, 13 books and 40 patents to his name, he is the recipient of many scientific awards throughout the world, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the American Oil Chemists' Society, the Institute of Food Technologists and the Royal Society of Chemistry (U.K.). He is the Editor in Chief of Current Opinion in Food Science and Current Research in Food Science.

About Coasun
Coasun, Inc. (www.coasun.com) is a high technology company focusing on the development of disruptive, game-changing technologies in the area of foods, cosmetics and biolubricants. As a think-tank, Coasun Inc develops and protects new IP, particularly in the area of lipids, and works with partners to successfully implement the technology in the marketplace.

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SOURCE Motif FoodWorks