EPISODE · Sep 4, 2026 · 15 MIN
197. What’s in Your Cart? A Grocery Store Walkthrough of Next-Gen Food Innovation
from Grow Everything Biotech Podcast · host Messaginglab
Food technology is moving from farms and petrochemicals into bioreactors, fungi, engineered crops, and circular feedstocks. In this Grow Everything highlights episode, Erum Azeez and Karl Schmieder visit six stops across the grocery store to explore sweet proteins from Oobli, fermentation derived colorants from MycoFutures and Chromologics, the antioxidant rich purple tomato from Norfolk Healthy Produce, fungi based proteins from The Better Meat Co. and MyForest Foods, sargassum derived ingredients from Origin by Ocean, and the hard commercial work of getting emerging products onto retail shelves. For founders, scientists, investors, and builders across synthetic biology and sustainable materials, the central lesson is clear: fermentation is manufacturing, environmental problems can become valuable feedstocks, and biology wins when performance, taste, branding, and price are better for the customer.Grow Everything brings the bioeconomy to life. Hosts Karl Schmieder and Erum Azeez Khan share stories and speak with the leaders and innovators using biology to change the world. Biology is the world’s oldest technology, and it can be engineered. So, what are we growing?Learn more at www.messaginglab.com/groweverythingChapters:(00:00:00) Food technology innovations hidden across the grocery store(00:01:57) Why fermentation should be understood as manufacturing(00:03:02) Oobli sweet proteins replace sugar with tiny amounts of protein(00:04:35) Fermentation creates powerful natural colors for food brands(00:06:20) The purple tomato brings biotechnology into the produce aisle(00:08:11) The Better Meat Co. grows nutrient rich mycoprotein in bioreactors(00:09:54) MyForest Foods turns oyster mushroom mycelium into bacon(00:11:15) Origin by Ocean transforms invasive sargassum into useful ingredients(00:12:34) Startup CPG explains what gets emerging brands onto shelves(00:13:50) Why biology must compete on taste, price, branding, and performanceLinks and Resources:22. Sweet Dreams Are Made of Proteins: Oobli's Ali Wing180. Fungi in Full Color: Ricky Cassini Reimagines Dye at Michroma181. Can Hue Believe It? Gerit Tolborg’s Quest for Pure Color at Chromologics33. Purple Reign, A Purple Tomato with a Genetic Twist, Nathan Pumplin of Norfolk Healthy Produce157. (Thanksgiving Replay) Meat the Future: How Paul Shapiro is Brewing Superfoods at Better Meat Co.126. Sizzling Success: Eben Bayer of MyForest Foods on Scaling Mycelium Magic175. Seaweed Is the New Oil: Mari Granström Builds Origin by Ocean167. From Scrappy to Scalable: Daniel Scharff Grows Startup CPGBioInnovations Events - For 25% off use code: Grow EverythingGrow Everything LinkedInTopics Covered:Food technology is moving from farms and petrochemicals into bioreactors, fungi, engineered crops, and circular feedstocks. In this Grow Everything highlights episodeHave a question or comment? Message us here:Text or Call (804) 505-5553Instagram / Twitter / LinkedIn / Youtube / Grow EverythingMusic by: Nihilore Production by: Amplafy Media
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197. What’s in Your Cart? A Grocery Store Walkthrough of Next-Gen Food Innovation
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