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Onima upcycles brewer's yeast onto our plates thanks to a debittering process

Juan Londono, Director of Operations at Onimapresents his start-up as part of the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste on 29 September, launched by the United Nations (UN) in 2020: Onima proposes a more resilient production method by transforming brewer's yeast waste into new foodstuffs, thus valorising these residual products.

Les trois cofondateurs de la start-up Onima. ® Onima

A start-up co-founded in 2021 by two AgroParisTech alumni, Nikola Stevanovic and Mathieu Durand, and a CentraleSupélec alumnus, Juan Londono (COO), now CEO, CTO and COO of the start-up respectively, Onima is a product of the laboratory Paris-Saclay Food and Bioproduct Engineering (Say Food – Univ. Paris-Saclay / INRAE / AgroParisTech) and theIndustrial Agro-Biotechnologies Research and Development Unit (URD ABI - AgroParisTech)Onima has developed a unique bioprocess that tackles the main challenge of valorising yeast in the human food chain, namely its bitterness. It releases the potential of recycled products and uses yeast waste to create other foods from upcycled brewer's yeast.

Giving new life to raw materials too often excluded from food systems

This is what motivated the three co-founders when they embarked on the Onima adventure, i.e. to recycle and add value to residual agri-food products by reinjecting them into the human food chain. "These raw materials were considered redundant, and often even as waste. We wanted to put them back at the centre of our food systems," explains Juan Londono.

After thoroughly reading a number of files and reports, they found their target: brewer's yeast, a group of small unicellular fungi (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) obtained during the fermentation of beer by brewing malt. This "living" raw material, which is very rich in nutrients, notably protein (nearly 40%), fibre, vitamins and minerals, seemed to be the ideal candidate for successful valorisation.

But a major obstacle soon appeared, namely the bitterness of the compound, which explains why this raw material cannot be found on our plates in its natural state, although it is sometimes used in the form of extracts or concentrates. "This gets around the bitterness problem by seeking properties within the yeast, but it is much more energy-intensive. The environmental impact and costs are also higher. At Onima, we keep the yeast with all its properties," explains Juan Londono.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae aussi connue comme la levure de bière ou de boulanger

Debittering, the key to valorising brewer's yeast

This tour de force is based on the debittering process, a key biotechnological procedure that removes the molecules responsible for bitterness at the end of the brewing process. It targets humulones, which come from hops and give beer its characteristic taste, but which adsorb to the yeast walls, making them unpalatable.

Thanks to this process, Onima is currently the first company able to remove the bitterness from brewer's yeast without spoiling it and without using chemicals that could be problematic for both the environment and health. "Today, our yeast is 100% recycled and comes from breweries where it has been used to brew beer." »

A local start-up

Onima's history is strongly influenced by the Paris-Saclay ecosystem. "All three of us are linked to Université Paris-Saclay in one way or another," confirms Onima's COO. The start-up was founded in 2021 on Université's premises and then gradually evolved thanks to its members and partners. The project was integrated into AgroParisTech's Food'InnLab incubator, "which was really vital at the start, to help us find our feet in the world of foodtech and formulation. We had access to the premises and to a number of expert assessments, with very good follow-up". ».

After the Food'InnLab, it was Genopole's turn to support Onima, via the Shaker programme. "The purely biotech research part was done there. Without it, we would not have had access to state-of-the-art equipment to test our process." Then, in 2022, when it was time to tackle the market and technology development side of the business, 21st by CentraleSupélec appeared and supported the trio for a year."21st was quite interesting for us in terms of the ecosystem. It has a great network of companies," explains the CentraleSupélec alumnus.

Markets to conquer and challenges to meet

Onima is now thinking big, with the goal of entering several different markets, such as vegetarian catering, imitation meat and vegetarian patties. And some more innovative segments, such as protein pasta and bread. "Today, with brewer's yeast, you can make a dish with just pasta and a portion of vegetables, but in terms of quantity and nutritional intake, it is equivalent to a dish comprising starch, vegetables and chicken," says Juan Londono.

« "Our ambition is to democratise a food and introduce it into what we consume on a regular basis," continues Onima's COO. This also applies to our pets, " Brewer's yeast happens to be very popular with cats and dogs," laughs the start-up entrepreneur.

However, accessing these markets is no mean feat. "Today, the stakes are very clear when it comes to scaling up our product to an industrial scale. It's a challenge, because you can't set up a factory overnight. You need support, financing, etc. From the outset, we need machines and resources that are extremely expensive," confides the COO.

Another major challenge is finding a market, because "with deeptech, you don't start from the consumer's need to create the technology. You do the opposite; you start with a raw material, a technology, without knowing what will happen, and then try to find a place for it." ».

Accepting tomorrow's food products

These new raw materials and the resulting new food products, often alternatives to meat, are being questioned by manufacturers and consumers alike. According to Juan Londono, "changing our vision is a big challenge. We need to remain open to the potential of these ingredients and give ourselves time to experiment and innovate with them. ».

As far as consumers are concerned, it is not necessarily a question of replacing meat altogether, but of achieving a better balance in their dishes by choosing new products. "This is a job they cannot do alone. We are well aware of that. As manufacturers and brands, we need to help them get there," explains the young man.

If all goes well, Onima will soon be a part of this change. Currently in the industrial scale-up phase, the start-up will announce the launch of its ingredients range at the end of the year, and the team will begin the search for funding. Today, this team comprises 17 people with a wide range of skills, from biotechnology to business development and food science. "The team is extremely talented and its skills are widely distributed throughout the ecosystem of Université Paris-Saclay and its constituent faculties and institutes. We would like to continue forging links with this ecosystem so we can recruit the talent we will need in the future," concludes the entrepreneur. A wish we all share!

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