Shiru is flipping the script on how to secure strategic partners with ingredient manufacturers through a “request for partners” (RFP) initiative, where suppliers can submit their ideas to co-develop a natural sweetener with the help of the AI company’s technology, said Jasmin Hume, CEO and founder of Shiru.
Available through an as-a-service model, Shiru’s Flourish platform uses AI to “understand the language of proteins” by identifying “amino acid sequences that make up proteins and connect them with their functional attribute,” Hume previously explained.
Instead of reaching out to prospective partners on a one-on-one basis, Shiru is using this RFP process to “cast a wider net” among ingredient partners and to spread the word about the company’s AI technology, explained Hume said.
Shiru is prioritizing prospective partners that are mission-aligned on creating a more sustainable food system, have global scale and strong research and development capabilities, she added.
Shiru will select partners to use its technology through a flexible licensing agreement and customized to fit a product line and geography with the goal of being market ready by 2025. If the RFP program is successful, Shiru will consider rolling out other RFPs for various ingredients, Hume explained.
Have you registered for Future Food-Tech?
Join FoodNavigator-USA at Future Food-Tech in San Francisco, March 12-14 and hear Jasmin Hume discuss the importance of developing strategic partnerships during the Crafting Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships to Further the Future of Food session at the event. Learn more about the session, event and how to register by visiting the website here .
Other speakers for the panel will include:
- Joshua Lachter, co-founder and CBO at Synonym
- Tia Rains, VP of science, innovation and corporate affairs at Ajinomoto Health and Nutrition North America
Currently, Shiru has several working partnerships, including a sweet protein deal with Ajinomoto, an egg replacer with Puratos and Griffith Foods for a fat replacer called OleoPro.
“We are not a single ingredient company. We actually have the ability to develop a lot of different ingredients that are really tailor-selected for particular applications. So, we want to kick start that engagement now,” she elaborated.
‘The most established alternatives to sugar do have their pitfalls and their challenges’
Natural sweeteners are a plenty today, but “there is still a big room to play in creating better solutions that are clean label,” including with sweet proteins like brazzein, Hume said.
Consumers “expect ingredients to be not only natural or identical to how they are found in nature but also clean label,” she noted. For instance, sweet protein can be labeled on food and beverage products simply as raspberry protein or banana protein, making it easy for consumers to understand where an ingredient comes from, she added.
Additionally, many food and beverage companies face formulation challenges with the natural sweeteners available on the market today, Hume explained.
“Even the most established alternatives to sugar do have their pitfalls and their challenges. They can have off flavors, or maybe, they linger too long on the tongue. Maybe they are only stable in certain temperature ranges, so you cannot actually process them very well,” she elaborated.
Shiru explores ways to monetize AI
Like other AI companies, Shiru is working towards a sustainable and profitable business model for its technology — how to monetize AI — using the RFP as one way to support the business, Hume said.
Last November, Shiru secured $16 million in Series B funding, led by S2G Ventures, with participation from CPT Capital, Lux Capital, Meach Cove Capital and Nourish Ventures.
“How can we monetize the value that we bring to the table, which certainly is rooted in AI and our large libraries of natural ingredients? How can we monetize that efficiently as soon as possible, so that we can continue to be heads down at developing ingredients but do so in a way that we are not solely responsible for,” Hume said.
Many large CPG companies are experimenting and using AI for a variety of use cases — from marketing to supply chain logistics — but they are often not building these systems themselves, instead leaning on technology providers like Shiru, Hume explained.
The amount of siloed and outdated systems (i.e., digital debt) continues to hamper AI’s use in food and beverage companies. Almost two-thirds (63%) of 750 technology leaders reported severe or negative effects from technical debt, preventing them from fully leveraging AI, according to a survey from tech company SnapLogic.
“These companies are not going to be building AI systems themselves. But rather can we provide access to what we have built and create value together? And we are seeing a lot of interest in that,” Hume elaborated.
“Both CPG companies and ingredients companies are hiring folks with the title head of digital transformation, which is super amazing and strategic for them, and they do not intend to build out what we have built at Shiru in-house. And so, it is a massive opportunity for us to be their AI partner for discovery, to cut costs, accelerate product development, and frankly, develop products that really were not actually possible before these types of tools,” she added.
