Motif FoodWorks, the Ginkgo Bioworks spinout looking to engineer plant-based foods for nutrition and taste, has a newly renovated home in the Seaport District’s Innovation and Design Building.
The startup unveiled the new, 10,600-square-foot facility in December. Half of the site is dedicated to research and development lab space, while the other is more traditional office space. The site features four conference rooms and six offices, and the rest of the facility is an open layout to promote “the spirit of collaboration.”
With four individual labs, the company is improving the look, taste and texture of plant-based products.
“The purpose of those labs really reflects our approach to innovation and ingredient development. We have one lab dedicated to advanced analytics — characterizing materials, characterizing ingredients — and other labs dedicated to discovering fundamental food science principles that will help us design better ingredients and better foods, plus a bioprocessing lab,” chief technology officer Mike Leonard said. “Finally, we've got a test kitchen: an applications lab that's worthy of having consumers come in and see how we make food and to try it.”
Not only are the labs fully designed to fulfill the company’s plant-based R&D pipeline, but the spaces are also a huge differentiator when compared to others in the area, Leonard said. He described a “laser focus” on the company’s specific innovation process.
For a little whimsy, look beyond the labs to find 14 pieces of art by Liz Roache, a resident of the Boston Design Center.
“We commissioned her to produce several works of art and to kind of set the theme for our whole office that reflects the integration of biology, food science and the art that goes into food,” Leonard said. “Through her combination of balancing the light and color and design, it really reflects our focus on balancing the science, balancing ingredients and balancing food formulations.”
Spun out of Ginkgo Bioworks in early 2019, Motif FoodWorks is working on creating ingredients for several products in its pipeline, with a focus on alternative meat, alternative dairy and plant-based performance products. Ginkgo is still Motif’s primary partner and investor, and the two currently have a technology partnership under which Motif uses Ginkgo’s synthetic biology processes. Both companies reside in the Innovation and Design Building.
Motif works on a B2B model, making alternative proteins to sell to food companies and product developers as an ingredient. In June last year, Motif announced a partnership with Canadian food, health and aging scientist Alejandro Marangoni to replicate the taste and texture of animal fats in plant-based products.
“We know that to really do things differently and to move the needle in this plant-based food ingredients space, we need to approach every piece of work differently, and that includes leveraging each team member's individual talents,” Leonard said. “We all have to wear multiple hats. Without collaboration, we don't make progress. It's part of our culture. It's something that we really believe in. I think for any startup, you've got to be collaboration-minded.”
Located on the second floor of building 27, Motif’s new site has been modified to ensure the safety of employees during the Covid-19 pandemic. The kitchen, for example, currently features plexiglass barriers to promote social distancing. Hand sanitizing and temperature check stations are widely available.
Motif also performs contact tracing, so everyone who visits the space has to fill out a form with their personal information. Twenty-four employees work on site.
“It's really a collaborative space. When you walk in, you feel like you’re part of something special and you’re part of a team,” Leonard said. “You’re part of something that's really going to change the world. This is how I feel when I walk into that building.”
Want to take a look? Click or swipe through the gallery below to check out the space.
Motif FoodWorks
Correction: This article has been updated to reflect the correct square footage of Motif FoodWorks' new facility.
