In Massachusetts, Ginkgo Bioworks and Robertet USA announced the successful commercial-scale fermentation of a key flavor and fragrance ingredient. Ginkgo and Robertet are driving innovation in cultured ingredients, focusing on products such as rose oil ingredients and a family of lactone ingredients.
Cultured flavor and fragrance ingredients are a growing sector for the nutrition, cosmetics and personal care industries. These ingredients are produced by designer yeasts, a process akin to making beer in a brewery. After the fermentation, the ingredient is separated from the yeast cells and can be used like other products.
“It’s great to see a project go from conception with a customer, through design of the organism and process development, all the way to a 50,000 liter fermentation,” said Jason Kelly, co-founder and CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks. “Robertet has been a great partner throughout this process and we look forward to building many more successful products together.”