The National Football League Alumni Association has teamed up with US startup Oobli to drive wider adoption of sweet proteins as a healthier alternative to sugar.
Ahead of the start of the 2026 season of the National Football League (NFL), its alumni body has struck a new partnership to raise awareness and adoption of novel sugar substitutes.
To help Americans make healthier lifestyle choices, the NFL Alumni Association is working with Californian startup Oobli, which makes sweet proteins via precision fermentation.
As millions navigate conditions like type 2 diabetes, obesity, and metabolic disease, the strategic collaboration aims to use innovation and education to promote better nutrition. Oobli highlighted that its better-for-you ingredients can “deliver sweetness as protein, instead of carbs”.
Oobli and NFL Alumni to host national education initiatives
Oobli makes a range of sweet proteins inspired by fruits grown in Africa. These contain ultra-sweet compounds like brazzein and monellin, but in quantities that make large-scale production impossible.
So the startup relies on precision fermentation, a technology that involves inserting the DNA sequence of these sweet proteins into Komagataella phaffii (a yeast strain with a long history of use in food). The microbes are added to a fermentation tank where they are fed sugars and a nutrient-rich broth to produce the proteins, which are filtered out and purified.
The resulting non-GMO sweet proteins taste like sugar but are digested as proteins, with lower calories and no impact on blood glucose or gut health.
Oobli’s brazzein is up to 1,000 times sweeter than sucrose, and its monellin is even more saccharine. These alternative sweeteners can be used in a wide variety of food and drink products, from granola, energy bars, and gummy bears to non-dairy alternatives, smoothies, and sodas.
At the heart of its partnership with NFL Alumni is Oobli Inside, a new consumer-facing platform that identifies products made with its sweet proteins to help families make informed choices about reduced-sugar options.
The two organisations will work on a series of national education initiatives, including at youth football camps, community events, Hall of Fame activities, and the NFL Alumni Super Week leading up to the 2027 Super Bowl in Los Angeles.
They noted that food and beverage companies, retailers, restaurants and consumer brands that incorporate Oobli Inside will give consumers an easy, trusted way of knowing that food products can help them cut sugar without compromising on the flavour.
Oobli Inside can make ‘meaningful difference’ for public health
“The NFL Alumni Association is committed to helping people live healthier, more active lives. Oobli represents exactly the kind of innovation partner we want to introduce to our players, families, and fans,” said Brad Edwards, CEO of the alumni body.
“The Oobli Inside initiative will give families another great way to enjoy the foods they already love while looking out for their health. That’s a mission our alumni are proud to stand behind, and we believe this partnership could make a meaningful difference in the health of millions of Americans,” he added.
Americans eat 17 teaspoons of sugar every day, much higher than the recommended amount. This has risen over the last century, with 2021 estimates suggesting sugar and artificial sweetener intake was up by 53% from 1909. The calorie-rich ingredient has been a major contributor to the country’s obesity epidemic, which plagues 42% of its citizens. Not to mention, over 11% of consumers have type 2 diabetes.
It’s why their top response when asked what they wanted to consume less of this year was sugar, which was cited by 45%. When buying packaged drinks, nearly half (48%) of them often or always check the label for sugar or sweeteners. On the other hand, non-sugar sweeteners are viewed very positively among Gen Z and millennials, more than half of whom believe they’re either as healthy or healthier than sugar. These cohorts rate nearly every sweetener as healthier.
Oobli, which has raised nearly $50M to date, has secured approval to sell three sweet proteins in the US, two based on brazzein and one on monellin. It sells a line of dark and milk chocolates sweetened with its proteins, and is preparing to launch into new categories through partnerships with Ingredion and Grupo Bimbo.
“We believe people shouldn’t have to choose between health and taste,” said Oobli CEO Ali Wing. “Partnering with the NFL Alumni Association lets us introduce Americans to the health benefits of sweet proteins through a trusted voice they know and respect.”
She added: “Oobli Inside will make it easier for consumers to recognise products made with our breakthrough ingredient and make healthier everyday choices for them and their families.”
The startup is one of several players working in the sweet protein space, including Amai Proteins, MycoTechnology, Pentasweet, Nambawan Spain, Perfect Day, Melazyme, Sweegen, Microfarmtory, and Nanjing Bestzyme.
