#107 Ali Wing: Sweet Proteins, Sugar Reduction, and Making “Food Is Health” Scalable

Ali Wing is the CEO of Oobli, a biotech-powered food company using sweet proteins found in nature to deliver sweetness with far less sugar. In this conversation, Ali explains how certain plant proteins—discovered by scientists and traditionally eaten in regions near the equator—can briefly bind to our sweet taste receptors, telling the brain “we got sugar,” even though they’re proteins, not carbohydrates. That means a very different metabolic impact compared to added sugar.Federico and Ali talk about why humans are biologically wired to crave sweetness, and why the real problem is modern “reckless abundance”: cheap, convenient, supersized sugary foods and especially beverages. Ali shares why she’s not anti-sugar, but believes we need to use sugar more thoughtfully and reduce excess added sugar across the food system.They explore the emotional side of sweets—culture, nostalgia, celebration, and family traditions—and why healthier change can’t feel like a lecture. Ali argues the path to impact is meeting people where their taste is today: reducing 60–80% of sugar without people noticing a big difference. She also explains how sweet proteins can enable more nutrient-dense packaged foods (like adding fiber where sugar used to provide bulk).Ali describes Oobli’s go-to-market approach: partnering with major CPG companies to rebuild sweetener “systems” in packaged goods, so protein sweetening becomes the new base layer. They discuss early products people can try (including Oobli chocolate), and upcoming momentum through global partners. The episode closes with Ali’s view on building mission-driven, for-profit companies that scale, improve health outcomes, and reduce environmental impact by brewing proteins via fermentation rather than growing sugar-intensive crops.About Ali Wing:- https://www.oobli.comAbout Federico Ramallo ✨👨‍💻🌎🚀 Software Engineering Manager | 🛠 Founder of DensityLabs.io & PreVetted.ai | 🤝 Connecting 🇺🇸 U.S. teams with top nearshore 🌎 LATAM engineers- 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/framallo/- 🌐 https://densitylabs.io- ✅ https://prevetted.ai🎙 PreVetted Podcast 🎧📡- 🎯 https://prevetted.ai/podcast- 🐦 https://x.com/PrevettedPod- 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/prevetted-podcast00:00 Introduction to Ali Wing and Ubli01:00 The Science Behind Sweet Proteins03:34 The Sugar Dilemma: Understanding Our Cravings06:19 Balancing Profit and Purpose in Business10:24 Challenges in the Food Industry12:28 Cultural Connections to Food and Sweets15:37 Changing Dietary Behaviors19:13 The Role of Sweet Proteins in Health24:42 Ubli's Product Offerings and Market Expansion28:56 The Future of Sweetening in Food Products