Third Wave Bioactives, a company that uses microbial technology and innovative fermentation to make clean-label food products, has launched a new, natural-flavored product that will improve shelf life of products and is more safe for consumers to eat.
Based at the Technology Innovation Center in Wauwatosa's Milwaukee County Research Park, Third Wave was spun off of Agro BioSciences in 2017, the company founded by Tom Rehberger that sold to Church & Dwight Co. for $75 million.
The product, called reFRESHTM 386, a cultured onion juice line, took two years to develop, said President Matt Hundt, but represents ground-breaking innovation in the food-making industry.
“We are the first ones to do this in the culinary food space, in terms of putting these foods into the market,” Hundt said.
Third Wave sells its products to food manufacturers. The products can be used in soup or salad dressings. Some of the most recognizable brands in local stores include Third Wave's products and technology.
A small firm of only six employees, the new product line allows Third Wave to attract more customers and build on relationships with existing clients, Hundt said.
“It shows that we’re innovative and doing things that are different,” he said. “Our competitors are large, multinational companies. We have three or four large competitors that sell cultured dextrose or cultured sugar products that are similar, but different, than ours. These onions—this is a whole new thing. If you’re really looking to do something different and you really want to push your label even cleaner to what consumers want, then we have a solution the market is not supplied with.”
The new product has already earned national recognition. For its cultured onion juice line, Third Wave was awarded the Innovation Award at this year’s Institute of Food Technology Food Expo. The award goes to a company that represents a major technical or scientific advancement that also provides new benefits to consumers or manufacturers.
ReFRESHTM 386 is being made in partnership with Brazilian commercial fermentation company Biorigin, which has a facility in Louisville.
