Japanese trading giant Kanematsu Corporation has announced a significant collaboration with U.S. startup 2nd Nature, leveraging cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) to unlock the hidden potential within agricultural sidestreams. This partnership aims to identify and extract high-value functional ingredients from what was previously considered waste, paving the way for more sustainable and economically viable practices within the global food and beverage, health, personal care, and wellness sectors. The initiative represents a pivotal step in the evolving landscape of food technology, where AI is increasingly becoming an indispensable tool for innovation and resource optimization.
The integration of AI into the food industry is rapidly reshaping product development, enabling more efficient reformulation, accelerating production cycles, and fostering a more agile response to dynamic consumer preferences. Among the most promising applications of AI is ingredient discovery, a field seeing significant advancements. Chilean unicorn NotCo has pioneered this approach, utilizing AI to assist major food corporations in identifying optimal ingredient combinations for novel and sustainable products. Now, 2nd Nature is building upon this momentum with a specialized focus on valorizing waste streams.
Headquartered in Ohio, 2nd Nature employs sophisticated AI to meticulously map the molecular composition of agricultural and food processing sidestreams. This advanced analysis allows the company to pinpoint elusive small molecules, fibers, peptides, proteins, and enzymes that often go unnoticed by conventional screening methods. "Our technology encompasses a vast array of crops and industry sidestreams," stated Effendi Leonard, co-founder and CEO of 2nd Nature. "Most of these are derived from major food crops and the byproducts of food and beverage processing, including grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables like tomatoes, as well as fermented food and beverage and dairy byproducts." The extracted compounds possess the potential to be transformed into premium functional ingredients across a spectrum of industries.
This strategic alliance with Kanematsu Corporation, a diversified Japanese trading company with extensive interests in sectors including food and materials, underscores a shared vision for circular economy principles and sustainable resource management. Kanematsu, known for its broad operational scope, seeks to gain deeper insights into how underutilized byproducts from its existing ventures can be repurposed, thereby mitigating waste and creating new value chains.
Unlocking Value: 2nd Nature’s Three-Step AI-Driven Discovery Process
The collaboration hinges on 2nd Nature’s proprietary AgWaste Portal, an AI-powered platform designed to scrutinize complex chemical data and identify compounds imperceptible to human-led screening. This aligns perfectly with Kanematsu’s objective to enhance the sustainability of its operations by transforming potential waste liabilities into valuable assets.
"Food processing sidestreams are treasure troves full of nutrients and high-value ingredients. For too long, they are viewed as waste," Leonard emphasized. "Our AI looks for valuable ingredients within wastestreams." The company’s comprehensive service offering integrates AI-driven discovery with specialized hardware to optimize ingredient production. This holistic approach is structured into three distinct stages: Discover, Develop, and Deploy.
The Discover phase involves uncovering opportunities for functional ingredients within sidestreams. This is followed by the Develop stage, which focuses on creating scalable and cost-effective processes for producing the identified target ingredients. Finally, the Deploy stage ensures manufacturers receive a de-risked and resilient supply of upcycled ingredients sourced directly from their own sidestreams. This end-to-end methodology not only helps businesses reduce waste and generate additional revenue streams but also actively supports broader food sustainability goals.
A key advantage of this integrated approach is its ability to create the most efficient and resilient supply chains possible, stemming directly from the insights generated during the Discovery phase. This process not only valorizes waste materials but also significantly lowers operational costs.
Leonard elaborated on the cost-saving benefits, stating, "Cost reduction comes in both the R&D and production stages. At the R&D stage, our platform reduces cost and timeline for ingredient discovery. Instead of relying on traditional methods, we utilize our AI to screen millions of molecules in sidestreams, their quantity, and predict their functions. The AI outputs a handful of ‘top candidates’ that we can then validate experimentally. Using AI, we reduce the amount of manpower and the number of ingredient candidates to analyze before identifying those suitable for our purposes. Ingredient discovery usually takes many years, but now it only takes months using the Portal and only a fraction of the cost."
The production stage is equally streamlined. "At the production stage, our parallel downstream processing hardware system tests multiple processes simultaneously to identify the most optimal one to maximize yield and quality. The hardware system of our platform circumvents the expensive and time-consuming traditional approach to developing a manufacturing process through sequential improvements," Leonard added.
Transforming Cost Centers into Resilient Supplies of Healthier Ingredients
The food system, according to 2nd Nature, is currently hampered by an "economic failure," where vast quantities of nutrient-rich sidestreams are treated as costly liabilities. The insights derived from the Kanematsu partnership are expected to inform future discussions on innovation and sustainability within the industry.
Kazuhiro Matsuura, General Manager of Kanematsu Corporation’s Growth Strategy Office, articulated the company’s commitment: "At Kanematsu, our corporate principle is to contribute to a sustainable society through innovation. Through this collaboration, we look forward to learning from 2nd Nature’s AI-driven approach and gaining new perspectives on how agricultural sidestreams may contribute to more sustainable resource utilization."
The initial phase of the collaboration is dedicated to the Discovery stage. 2nd Nature will meticulously analyze the molecular potential of Kanematsu’s sidestreams, identifying valuable compounds such as proteins, functional fibers, and bioactives based on their predicted functional properties.
"While our work with Kanematsu begins with mapping molecular potential, our platform is built to eventually help partners turn their biggest cost centers into resilient supplies of safer and healthier ingredients, as well as new revenue streams," Leonard stated.
Proven Innovation and Future Growth
2nd Nature is not new to bringing innovative upcycled ingredients to market. The startup has already launched two products for the food industry: a zero-calorie sweetener suitable for beverages, dairy and alternatives, baked goods, and snacks, and a non-sodium umami enhancer designed for plant-based meats, savory snacks, ready meals, soups, and sauces. These products demonstrate the tangible results of their AI-driven approach to ingredient discovery and development.
Leonard highlighted the strategic importance of partnerships: "We believe that partnering with agri-food processors and CPG companies is the most efficient way for the industry to bring new ingredients to the market, whereby 2nd Nature can leverage its strength in ingredient discovery using agrifood solutions, and our partners can harness their expertise in distribution and market placement."
The company is actively pursuing regulatory approval, intending to file a Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Furthermore, 2nd Nature is currently fundraising for a seed/Series A round, with the proceeds earmarked for commercial expansion and further enhancement of its AI capabilities.
This collaboration echoes broader industry trends, with other major players also embracing AI for ingredient innovation. For instance, Ingredion has partnered with U.S. startup Shiru to identify novel functional proteins, with an initial focus on the burgeoning GLP-1 market, showcasing the pervasive influence of AI across the ingredient discovery landscape. The Kanematsu-2nd Nature alliance is poised to be a significant contributor to this transformative shift, demonstrating a powerful model for unlocking the untapped value in agricultural byproducts and fostering a more sustainable future for the food industry. The potential for AI to not only reduce waste but also create entirely new revenue streams and a more resilient supply chain for essential ingredients is a compelling narrative for the industry’s future.