Revolutionising gluten-safe food production

Background

Prozymi Biolabs Ltd, an Edinburgh based biotechnology start-up was founded with a mission to revolutionise gluten-free food production. With a significant portion of the UK population affected by gluten-related disorders, including coeliac disease, gluten sensitivity and IBS, there is an increased demand for gluten-free products. However, existing gluten-free options often lack the taste, texture, and nutritional value of traditional gluten-containing foods, posing challenges for consumers.

Scientists from Prozymi Biolabs are testing a new enzyme technology that degrades gliadin, the protein that causes food sensitivities.

The Journey

Since its inception in early 2021 Prozymi Biolabs has experienced rapid growth and made a significant impact in the biotech world – more specifically in gluten-safe technology.

Co-founders Ioannis Stasinopoulos and Andreas Andreou were awarded their PhD’s at the University of Edinburgh and came up with the idea of developing a pioneering method of making gluten-safe bread while baking sourdough bread in their spare time. Receiving seed funding through the University of Edinburgh’s Data Driven Entrepreneurship program, which supports high growth start-ups associated with the university, gave Prozymi Biolabs the kick-start required to embark on their journey revolutionising the gluten-free bread experience.

Following an introduction via the student enterprise team at Edinburgh Innovations, Louise Arnold, Business Engagement Executive at Interface, has supported the Prozymi Biolabs team since they started, helping them navigate the academic research and development landscape, making relevant connections into universities, support networks and funding.

Some of these connections and projects include:

• Queen Margaret University and the SRUC Thrive Programme in support of product development, planning, marketing, pitching, nutrition, food legislation and access to general business support information.
• The Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) Accelerator Programme, to guide and assist them on best practice, direct innovation support and peer to peer learning. They continued to collaborate with IBioIC, through the scale up of the gliadin-degrading enzymes using IBioIC’s scale up facilities at Heriot Watt University.
• Two projects with University of Aberdeen’s Applied Health Science students: one to identify the causes behind gluten disorders, the parts of gluten responsible, the key symptoms, diagnostic methods, and potential treatments used. And the second on gluten awareness, researching gluten-related topics such as gluten intolerance, celiac disease, and gluten-free diets analysing data collected to identify patterns, trends, and key insights regarding gluten-related issues.
• A collaboration with University of Stirling’s Business School students on developing marketing strategy and market and competitor analysis.
• A partnership with the Proteomics and Metabolomics Facility at the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute, funded via the Healthier Products Innovation Fund, allowed Prozymi Biolabs to use their mass spectrometry equipment to develop a robust process for sequencing and characterizing gluten-degrading enzymes. This collaboration enabled the identification and expression of candidate enzymes, with a focus on specificity and efficiency in degrading harmful gluten peptides while preserving the integrity of bread’s texture and flavour.

The Benefits

Prozymi Biolabs are creating employment opportunities, generating collaborations with university facilities and provide experiential learning opportunities for students through Interface support. The project outcomes could yield multidimensional benefits in the future as follows:

• Social: Consumers will benefit from high-quality gluten-free products at lower prices, making them affordable for low-income social classes.
• Economic: The low production cost of gluten-free products made with their technology will alleviate NHS financial burden for prescribed goods to coeliacs and help products of those higher in the supply chain, such as local wheat and barley suppliers to reach the gluten-free market.
• Environmental: Reduced reliance on imported naturally gluten-free materials, used for existing gluten-free products, will minimise transport fuels and align with government priorities for carbon footprint reduction.
• Political: Support the government’s strategy for locally sourced wheat and barley grains to increase nation’s self-sufficiency and resilience.

Benefits to Prozymi Biolabs

• Collaboration has fostered an innovative environment, leading to the development of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) through identification and characterisation of the gluten degrading enzymes. This has also enhanced overall productivity within the company.
• By pooling resources and expertise across the university networks, has led to increased R&D efficiency, cost savings and faster project completion. The collaborations have improved Prozymi Biolab’s market position enabling the development of cutting-edge solutions, while increasing their market valuation.
• Potential applications in brewing, animal feed, and pharmaceutical industries.
• This innovation has also led to the selection of Prozymi Biolabs for IBioIC’s Biotech Innovators incubator, University of Edinburgh’s Venture Builder Incubator, Barclay’s AgriTech Bridge program and Carbon 13 Venture Launchpad program opening avenues for further academic and research collaborations.
• Awarded Innovation of the Year at the Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards 2024.

Benefits to Academics

• The partnership has provided the University of Edinburgh’s Proteomics & Metabolomics Facility with an opportunity to apply analytical chemistry tools in the food sector.
• Collaborating with the organisation has opened additional funding opportunities for the universities, allowing for expanded research capabilities.
• The collaboration has offered students the chance to engage directly with industry, enriching their learning experience and professional development.

Next Steps

Prozymi Biolabs’ innovative approach to gluten-free bread production has the potential of transforming the food industry, offering consumers high-quality gluten-free products with improved taste, texture, and nutritional value. Through collaboration with academic partners and participation in incubator programs, the company is poised to further advance its research and development efforts, paving the way for a new era of gluten-free innovation.

Next steps for Prozymi Biolabs include:

• Continued collaboration with the University of Edinburgh’s Proteomics and Metabolomics facility and Edinburgh Genome Foundry has resulted in an established pipeline for screening and expression of gluten-degrading enzymes which could be further developed to generate new promising candidates in the future for the needs of beer, pharma, or animal feed industries.
• New academic collaborations with Queen Margaret University Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation, to provide equipment and expertise for small-scale proof-of-concept gluten-free bread production; the School of Physics of the University of Edinburgh for potential collaboration for testing the rheological properties of initial gluten-free bread batches.

This Conference will bring together everyone interested in the development of agritourism in Scotland.

It will be a great chance to get together, network and build relationships.

The conference is set to welcome:

• existing agritourism business owners
• farmers and crofters considering agritourism or just keen to find out more
• tourism, hospitality and food and drink businesses keen to benefit from the growth of agritourism in Scotland
• professionals and suppliers to the sector
• industry representatives from across agriculture, tourism destinations, the public sector and academia

Both members of Scottish Agritourism and non-members are welcome. Anyone booking with a non-members ticket who decides to join Scottish Agritourism before or during the Conference will have the difference in their ticket money refunded.

Highlights will include:

• Building Great Teams – Beata Winiarska, Forest Farm Dairy, Anna & Richard, Lindores & Sarah Heward, The Real Food Cafe.
• Innovation – Jillian McEwan, Lunan Bay Farm, Tom Lewis, Monachyle Mhor, Katrina Reynolds, Allanton Inn, & Rob Bebbington, Alderford.
• International session – Marijke Dunselman, Agritourism New Zealand & Pandurang Taware, Agritourism India
• Insight Session, Vicki Miller, Visit Scotland and Amanda Brown, Scotland Food & Drink
• Focus on Scotland’s Agritourism Strategy and upcoming World Agritourism Conference
• Annual Sector Dinner

For more information on the Scottish Agritourism Conference

Webinar on how robotics are revolutionising the food, drink, and agriculture industries!

Join experts from the National Robotarium to find out about robotics and their application in the food and drink and agriculture sectors. HIE’s Innovation team will also provide an update about opportunities currently available to businesses.

The National Robotarium’s mission is to promote the use of robotics across various sectors. The webinar will provide an overview of the robotic solutions currently available in the food and agriculture sectors, clarify where robotics is most effective, and identify which processes are better suited to automation rather than robotics. They will provide a clear method of how they assess your company’s position. This will help you understand the unique value that robotics can offer compared to automation.

The overview of HIE’s innovation support services will be valuable for those interested in developing and testing prototype products or processes.

By the end of the session, you’ll have a better understanding of the robotic solutions readily available, the integration process of new technology, where robotics is more suitable compared to automation, and how the National Robotarium can support your journey into robotics.

The Scottish Alliance for Food SCAF annual Conference takes place on 19th August. This will be a hybrid event, with the option of joining online.

Location: Advanced Research Centre, Glasgow / Online

Date & Time

Conference: Monday 19th August 2024, 9.15-17.15 (networking until 18.30).
Unconference: Tuesday 20th August, 10.00 – 13.00
Programme:

09.15 – 10.30 SESSION 1: Welcome, Keynote and SCAF updates
10.30 – 11.15 Coffee break, Poster presentations and networking
11.15 – 12.45 SESSION 2: Oral presentations (SCAF pump priming projects and short communications)

12.45 – 13.45 Lunch, posters, and networking

13.45 – 15.00 SESSION 3: Oral presentations (SCAF pump priming projects and short communications)
15.00 – 15.45 Coffee break, posters, and networking
15.45 – 17.15 SESSION 4: Cross-disciplinary collaboration (Panel discussion, horizon scanning, and opportunities in SCAF)

Howell Davies, Head of Strategic Programmes and Funding, at Interface will be attending this event.

Innovation, new ideas and emerging technologies in the world of food are constantly being explored and developed across a wide array of fields, disciplines, topics and specialities. However, engagement between the wide range of different subjects in which food features is often limited.

This conference will open up inter-disciplinary boundaries and blind-spots, focussing in particular on what innovation looks like and means across different areas of study involving food.

In inviting all those interested in and engaged with food to discuss what’s considered new, progressive and important from different perspectives, the conference seeks to inspire fresh thinking and improve our understanding of how food works not just in different sectors, but in the world as a whole.

“Being Innovative about Food Innovation” is a two-day event that aims to bring together a diverse community of individuals engaged with researching, studying and working with food. It’s not a standard academic conference, in that it seeks to both champion and challenge different ideas about innovation, inviting contributions in a variety of formats as a means to broadening and improving our thinking on one topic. Whether you are an academic, a researcher, nutritionist, dietitian, chef, cook, food provider, food organiser, food scientist, food educator, agronomist, grower, food producer, brewer, fermenter, marketer, communicator, government official or student, this conference offers a unique opportunity to connect, share knowledge and gain insights not just into the latest trends and breakthroughs in the food sector, but to consider different concepts of what innovation and progress mean.

Howell Davies, Interface’s Head of Strategic Programmes & Funding will be presenting on “How do you define Innovation for the Food & Drink Sector?”

• Do you want to hear about future innovation in the north east?
• Interested in the new Seedpod development and how SRUC can support Food and drink businesses?
• Are you interested in leading-edge food & drink associated research?
• Do you want to hear about potential collaboration opportunities?

Then why not join this SRUC event which will showcase the breadth of their food & drink activities from product development & innovation to industry-focussed research, consultancy and education. From meat, fish & plant-based protein, food security, processing production, emerging technologies, & political drivers, to innovative food & drink product development – food & drink is very much a focus at SRUC. If you’re a food & drink business this event will give you a better understanding of how SRUC / SAC Consulting can help you and will also showcase some examples of products that we have helped to develop.

Opportunity North East will join SRUC at this event and provide an update on the transformational SeedPod project that is currently under construction at SRUC Craibstone. It has been developed with industry and partners and has been set up to grow the food and drink manufacturing sector in the region and nationally. Seedpod’s facilities and support programmes will put businesses at the forefront of innovation, productivity and sustainability, increasing high-value exports and creating new jobs. It will help businesses and the sector deliver low-carbon production and contribute to net-zero goals. SeedPod is due to open in late 2024 and is co-funded by ONE, the Scottish and UK Governments and is a key industry innovation project within the Aberdeen City Region Deal. SRUC is a strategic delivery partner in the project and is providing the site for SeedPod on its Craibstone campus.

SRUC welcomes this development on its Craibstone campus given its alignment to SRUC’s strategic growth strategy and food & drink expertise.

Lunch will be provided between 12:30pm – 1:30pm

The Food and Drink TechHUB Business Support are running a FREE online Workshop on “Green Marketing”. The free 3 hour interactive workshop will Include sessions from four experts on sustainability, marketing and messaging for the food & drink industry. There will be plenty of interactive elements, loads of time for Q&A and some 1on1 virtual time with the experts. The workshop will take place on Wednesday 31st January 2024, 10am – 1pm TechHUB Green Marketing

With Environmental, sustainability and carbon messaging becoming even more important to the consumer, it’s critical that your business gets the right messaging and you make the best possible decisions to be more sustainable.

It’s crucial that in doing so, you avoid green-washing, avoid using banned terminology, avoid fines and that you provide a true and authentic picture of your business’ sustainability. This interactive virtual workshop will help cut through the confusion and help you to get it right.

A“Cane to Cask” rum producer with a commitment to sustainability and a focus on high-quality raw materials, Matugga aims to leave an indelible mark on the international drinks marketplace.

Background

Husband and wife team, Paul and Jacine Rutasikwa, co-founded the Matugga Distillery in 2018, and were one of the first in the UK to produce rum from scratch. Based in Livingston the Matugga Distillery produces a multi-award-winning range of handcrafted spirits with distinctive character and flavours which are distributed across the UK and Europe.

The company is also developing a sugar cane estate on family land in Uganda that will employ and train local agricultural workers. By harvesting cane from its family land and converting it into high quality distilling molasses the company will become a “Cane to Cask” rum producer. With a commitment to sustainability and a focus on high-quality raw materials, Matugga aims to leave an indelible mark on the international drinks marketplace.

Matugga’s initiatives detailed below, supported by Interface’s introductions to academia and various funds, showcase the distillery’s commitment to sustainability, innovation, and social responsibility.

The Challenge – Pot Ale Utilisation

A pressing issue for Matugga is the management of liquid by-products, a challenge since their inception in 2018. Facing escalating disposal costs and a potential surge in liquid volume due to expansion plans, Matugga partnered with Heriot-Watt University. Through the Food & Drink Net Zero Challenge Fund, they explored sustainable alternatives for pot ale, including potential uses in animal feed and biogas, offering additional income streams.

The Solution

Heriot-Watt University’s research looked into characterizing Matugga’s pot ale, proposing solutions that added value while considering the environmental impact. The exploration encompassed biogas, feed/food applications, and new product feedstock potential. The goal was to create a sustainable value chain for pot ale, akin to Scotch whisky distillers.

The research led by Heriot-Watt University provides Matugga with a sustainable solution for pot ale, aligning with their commitment to environmental responsibility. This breakthrough has far-reaching implications for both Matugga and the wider Scottish rum distillery community.

The Benefits

A potential path has been identified which can enable Matugga to return their pot ale into the value chain similar to how Scotch whisky distillers can, ensuring sustainability.

This not only benefits Matugga’s expansion plans but also holds promise for other current and future Scottish rum distilleries.

Overall Impact

Interface have been instrumental in assisting Matugga Distillers with several other research and development opportunities which include:

• A major collaborative project with Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), supported by the Healthier Products Innovation Fund.
• A group project with University of Edinburgh MBA students to look at strategic marketing of spirits for a younger generation.
• A collaboration with Queen Margaret University centred around diversifying their rum portfolio and offerings, funded by an Innovation Voucher.

Matugga’s initiatives, supported by Interface’s introductions to academia and various funds, showcase the distillery’s commitment to sustainability, innovation, and social responsibility.

Matugga Distillery’s journey is a testament to the power of collaboration, innovation, and sustainability in the spirits industry. Through strategic partnerships and leveraging Interface’s support, Matugga has not only overcome challenges but has emerged as a leader, setting new standards for environmentally conscious and socially responsible distilleries in the UK.

The Net Zero Food & Drink Challenge Fund

The Net Zero Food & Drink Challenge Fund was launched in FY2022/23 by Interface and the Scotland Food and Drink Partnership to support businesses to accelerate their journey towards Net Zero utilising the knowledge base across Scottish Academia. It funded 17 projects of up to £10k each.

Projects were carried out between businesses and academia to improve their environmental credentials through the sustainable measures and learnings taken as a result of their projects. Type of impacts have varied from CO2 Capture, CO2 reduction, Energy Reduction and renewable energy benefits, alternative uses and adding value to waste, and sustainable farming techniques.

Aquaculture UK is the UK’s largest meeting place for aquaculture professionals.

Meet the companies driving infrastructure, farming technology and equipment forward. You’ll discover real-time solutions that boost production and profitability. And take away key insights on sustainability, welfare and environmental challenges.

Join your industry on 14-15 May at Macdonald Aviemore, Scotland, and share ideas to define the future.

Find out more and register.