New partnership to focus on unlocking scaled production for more sustainable, animal-free protein ingredients

NEW YORK – – Today, ZX Ventures, the global investment and innovation group of AB InBev, announced a R&D partnership with Clara Foods, a pioneer and leader in animal-free protein production, to unlock the possibilities of precision fermentation at large scale. The partnership draws on AB InBev’s centuries of expertise in scaled, food-grade fermentation and downstream processing gained from large-scale brewing processes, and Clara’s technology leadership in animal-free, performance proteins.

Since the turn of this century, global food demand is expected to increase anywhere between 59% to 98% by 20501, putting increased pressure on natural resources like water and arable land, and conventional food supply systems. This has created a growing need for new solutions to meet the increased demand for food. Through this partnership, ZX Ventures and Clara Foods intend to explore the development of sustainable, animal-free egg protein ‘brewed’ at large scale.

“Meeting the increased demand for food requires breakthrough solutions built on collaboration and innovation that spans several industry domains – both old and new. The ancient and natural process of fermentation can be further harnessed to help meet future demands in our global food system,” said Patrick O'Riordan, founder & CEO at BioBrew, a technology platform venture in ZX Ventures that is exploring opportunities to apply large-scale fermentation and downstream processing expertise beyond beer. “We look forward to exploring the development of highly-functional, animal-free egg proteins with Clara Foods in a scalable, sustainable and economically viable manner.”

“Humanity needs solutions that match the scale and urgency of our problems. Since day one, Clara has been on a mission to accelerate the world’s transition to animal-free protein, starting with the egg. More than one trillion eggs are consumed globally every year and corporate commitments for cage-free aren’t enough. We’re thrilled to be partnering with the world’s largest fermentation company to work together to enable a kinder, greener, and more delicious future. This partnership is a major step towards realizing our vision,” said Arturo Elizondo, CEO and co-founder of Clara Foods. “Working with BioBrew, ZX Ventures, and the broader AB InBev group truly allows us to harness our novel technology and bring it to scale – and the possibilities are immense.”

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ABOUT ZX VENTURES

ZX Ventures is the global investment and innovation group of Anheuser-Busch InBev with a dream of empowering entrepreneurs to unlock exponential growth. Launched in 2015, ZX’s focus is on seeding and launching the beverages of tomorrow and building new businesses. ZX invests in and partners with founders across the beverage, direct to consumer, and sustainable and agile solutions industries. For more information visit ZX-Ventures.com or follow ZX Ventures on LinkedIn and Instagram.

ABOUT CLARA FOODS

Clara FoodsⓇ, headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, is a pioneer in engineering, manufacturing and formulating animal-free, animal proteins as ingredients for the global food and beverage industry. Leveraging precision fermentation to produce functional and nutritional proteins from microorganisms, Clara is reimagining the factory farm model that underpins industrial animal agriculture with a more sustainable, kinder alternative. Clara Foods is on a mission to decouple the world's most powerful proteins from the animals that make them. For more information, visit clarafoods.com.

ZX Ventures Media Contact: Caitlin Talty, Caitlin.Talty@zx-ventures.com

Clara Foods Media Contact: Emily Nauseda, clarafoods@allisonpr.com

1. The Journal of the International Association of Agriculture Economists. (2013, December 10). The future of food demand: understanding differences in global economic models. https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12089