South Korean food tech startup Intake is expanding into the B2B sector with the launch of Takein, a brand centred on its yeast-derived protein and fibre ingredients.
Seoul-based Intake has unveiled a new ingredient brand, Takein, to kick off a full-scale expansion of its B2B business.
The new division will supply Intake’s precision-fermented yeast protein and fibre to global food manufacturers, accelerating its transition into a “materials-focused” food tech company” amid its bid to become a publicly listed firm.
It comes a year after Intake secured $9.2M in Series C funding and began its foray into precision fermentation, developing a yeast strain from locally grown grapes with 1.5 times higher protein than conventional yeast.
Intake focused on yeast protein and fibre
Intake is leveraging precision fermentation to produce novel ingredients for alternative protein products. Its wild yeast strain, earmarked to replace whey from cow’s milk, is derived from grape yeast.
The firm utilises non-GMO Saccharomyces cerevisiae, or brewers’ yeast, as the base strain, which is enhanced through adaptive evolution. It then optimises and cultivates the fungi, harvests and disrupts the cells to extract protein, and processes the material for various applications.
The yeast is used to fractionate and extract protein materials and dietary fibre complexes, in a scalable process that combines strain selection, culture condition optimisation, cell wall disruption, centrifugation, and concentration and purification equipment.
The company leverages artificial intelligence and biofoundry-based analytics to optimise the culture medium composition, incubation time, and production yields, as well as validate step-by-step scale-up.
Since the strain is naturally evolved and not classified as GMO, it falls outside major regulatory concerns,” Intake founder Han Nok-yeob explained last year. “Nevertheless, we are preparing all necessary data to obtain the US FDA’s NDI (New Dietary Ingredient) and GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) approvals to ensure there are no safety issues.”
Its powdered yeast protein isolate is described as a “third-generation” ingredient designed to replace whey. This is a complete protein with a biological value and amino acid score comparable to whey, but with higher digestion and absorption rates and a lower risk of causing allergies and skin problems.
The yeast culture dietary fibre, meanwhile, is obtained by separating and extracting cell walls after fractionating the protein. It contains components such as yeast-derived beta-glucan and mannose – the former has a molecular structure distinct from plant-derived beta-glucans and enhances immune function, and the latter acts as a prebiotic that inhibits harmful bacteria in the intestine.
Takein launch ‘important turning point’ for Intake
Intake cited consumers’ growing interest in meticulously checking ingredient lists and raw materials as the driving force behind the launch of the Takein brand.
The competitiveness of functional, sustainable source materials is emerging as a key factor, and the company is aiming to boost consumer health with ingredients that serve as the starting point for food.
It plans to strengthen its B2B business based on six core values: taste and flavour, efficiency, usability, environmental sustainability, functionality, and nutritional balance.
The company already has a host of consumer-facing arms, including Innocent (plant proteins and meat alternatives), Sugarlolo (sugar-free konjac jellies and drinks), ProteeOne (protein powders), Muse:Habit (beauty and wellness), and Morningjook (porridge), among others.
Intake is currently looking to verify the commercial potential of incorporating its precision-fermented yeast protein into finished products, including by sequentially applying it to the ProteeOne lineup. It’s also set to use the yeast-derived fibre ingredient to enhance the functionality of Sugarlolo’s products.
“The launch of the Takein brand marks an important turning point for Intake as it expands into a materials-focused food tech company,” said Han.
“We will continue to expand our portfolio of sustainable, high-performance materials and provide differentiated solutions to respond to changes in the future food market.”
