In nature, the skins and peels on fruit help protect the food from damage and preserve the delicious insides for people to enjoy. A Boston startup is taking this concept and applying it to foods like hummus, yogurt and coffee.
Foodberry is developing ways to wrap hydrated foods in plant-based coatings made from fruit and vegetable fibers. The food technology company partners with brands to develop new food forms and is already working with NadaMoo! and Keji. Foodberry also teased that it is working on a project with a billion dollar, multinational coffee and tea company.
Foodberry, formerly called WikiFoods, was founded in 2014 based on natural materials technology initially developed in Harvard and MIT labs. The company spent several years developing its materials technology, moving into and building out a Boston manufacturing facility and commercializing its technology, explained Marty Kolewe, president and chief executive. Kolewe joined the company in 2014 as head of R&D and operations before becoming CTO and then CEO.
“And now, we’re really at the end. We’re really looking at commercializing from a business perspective now, getting products to market and really dealing with the business from that angle,” Kolewe said.
One of the benefits of its approach to creating new food products is the creation of “edible packaging” as opposed to using plastic, Kolewe said.
Kristen Enright, head of innovation and products, explained that most high-moisture foods aren’t compatible with compostable packaging and require plastic, such as yogurt bought in plastic cups.
“Because we have our barrier that we’ve created, that can go around the high-moisture foods, that’s what’s unique about our foods and that enables it to be with this compostable packaging,” Enright said.
Sustainable food coatings, coverings
The technology also makes the foods easier to eat on the move, Kolewe and Enright said, and enables companies to experiment with different flavor and texture combinations.
“What it is to the consumer companies is, people looking for snacks in those categories, this is essentially a convenient and healthy and sustainable, delicious form for their product,” Kolewe said.
For example, Foodberry worked with NadaMoo! to develop mango, orange, peanut butter, mint and salted caramel coatings to encapsulate its chocolate, vanilla and strawberry flavored coconut milk ice cream. These products are available in 750 retail locations.
More recently, Keji and Foodberry launched “Mangochi” and “Dragon Fruit Nagochi” bites. They coated bite-sized pieces of mango and dragon fruit in a thin, fruit-flavored barrier. The companies said the coatings extend the shelf life of the fruit. Those products launched in January.
And coming soon, Foodberry is working with a coffee and tea company to make “coffee berries” that contain 10 mg of caffeine in a bite. The products will be tested in a chain of stores in Italy this summer.
“(Businesses) like all these other features of our platform ... but as a business, they’re looking at the consumer value prop as this is a novel coffee experience that the coffee category is starved for in a way,” Kolewe said.
The chief executive said they have a pipeline of products and partnerships behind these launches. Kolewe said this is the right moment for Foodberry to focus on launching products. While consumers may have been wary of combining food and technology before, he said they’re starting to see the benefits.
“We do see that changing a little bit, where people realize that food that maybe is a little bit different can be something which is better for them and have an impact,” Kolewe said.
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