The Sacramento Inno Awards recognize some of the year's most talented and successful players in the tech and startup community. This year, the Business Journal recognized innovative companies, products and leaders. Oobli is one of this year's Innovative Company honorees.
Oobli is trying to give customers another option when it comes to sweeteners.
The Davis-based company has spent nearly a decade developing a protein that can be used to replace sugar and the existing sugar substitutes in sweetened foods and beverages.
Sugar, a carbohydrate, is made up of small molecules that are absorbed quickly in the body, causing blood sugar spikes. According to the company, existing sugar substitutes are still made of carbohydrates or similarly small molecules, which can still have a glycemic effect on the gut.
Oobli has studied a protein called brazzein, found in the oubli fruit of West Africa, which is sweeter than sugar. The company has developed a fermentation process to re-create the protein in a commercial setting.
It has won Food and Drug Administration approvals to use its sweetener in food, and launched its first products in test markets this year. So far it has a line of sweet teas and dark chocolates that have as much as 75% less sugar than conventional products.
“These are the first protein sweeteners in the world to be brought to market,” CEO Ali Wing told the Business Journal earlier this year. "We want to show you a sweet treat that is way better for your body."
Its first test markets include Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Davis. In addition to selling its own food products, the company also plans to sell its sweetener to other food companies to use in their products.
Oobli has 50 employees, and a 20,000-square-foot office in Davis.
So far, the company has raised a total of $31.9 million, including a $25 million venture capital round this year led by San Francisco-based Piva Capital, and a $6.9 million round in 2020 led by Evolv Ventures, the venture fund backed by The Kraft Heinz Co.
