#229: Solving the Protein Problem: NNB Nutrition's Jake Mulder & Dustin Elliott

NNB Nutrition CEO Jake Mulder and Chief Brand Officer Dustin Elliott join us for Episode #229 of the PricePlow Podcast, recorded live at IFT FIRST 2026 in Chicago. It’s the second of two conversations we recorded with NNB on-site. The first, Episode #227, dug into Shawn Wells’ science-first philosophy. This one turns to the business side of building an ingredient supplier: how NNB scales dipeptides like DL185 Dileucine and the newly trademarked VasoRush, why the company favors ingredients that already exist in nature over new dietary ingredient filings, and how a tightening global whey supply is pushing brands toward clarified plant proteins like NNB’s clear pea protein. Jake and Dustin also walk through the flavor science behind SweetVantage+, NNB’s brazzein-enhanced stevia system built to mask some of the worst-tasting (and most effective) ingredients in the industry, and look back at how far the company has come since it first started working with PricePlow back in 2019. Subscribe to the PricePlow Podcast on your favorite platform and sign up for NNB Nutrition news alerts before diving in. https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/jake-mulder-dustin-elliott-nnb-nutrition-229 Video: NNB Nutrition Talks Business, Manufacturing, and Flavor Science at IFT FIRST 2026 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-qUhVvrGNc Detailed Show Notes: Jake Mulder and Dustin Elliott on NNB Nutrition’s Growth (0:00) – Introductions (2:45) – Why Dipeptides Are Winning the Peptide Conversation (10:00) – Dileucine’s MuscleTech Launch, One Year Later (16:30) – Inside NNB’s Global Manufacturing Playbook (19:45) – C8Vantage: The MCT Powder Built for One Customer (21:15) – Fiber, Postbiotics, and Defending a Precision Fermentation Moat (24:45) – The Protein Crisis: Proprietary Blends, Whey Supply, and Clarified Plant Proteins (31:45) – Precision-Fermented Dairy and PeptiClear’s Second Act (37:00) – Dileucine Meets ClearPea: New Sarcopenia Research (48:30) – The Hardest Ingredients to Flavor, and How Reb M9 Changed the Game (51:45) – Brazzein, SweetVantage+, and the Formulator’s Guide to Natural Sweeteners (59:15) – Customizing SweetVantage+ and What’s Next for NNB Where to Follow and Learn More Connect with Jake Mulder, Dustin Elliott, and NNB Nutrition LinkedIn: Jake Mulder LinkedIn: Dustin Elliott Instagram: @nnbnutrition NNB Nutrition on LinkedIn NNB Nutrition on PricePlow – Sign up for news alerts NNBNutrition.com Resources Mentioned Episode #227: Shawn Wells Breaks Down GLP-1 Drag – Part 1 of this two-part IFT FIRST 2026 series Episode #192: NNB Nutrition’s Pure, Potent, Precise Revolution … Read more on the PricePlow Blog