The challenge
Many of our favorite foods happened by chance. Beer, wine, sauerkraut, yogurt and kimchi were all results of accidental fermentation by microbial cultures.
But, what if the next-best fermented food (or medical treatment) isn’t found by an “oops,” but, instead, through a targeted approach?
That’s what Ravi Sheth, Hertz Fellow and co-founder and chief scientific officer of Kingdom Supercultures has set out to do.
the solution
Kingdom Superfoods is taking a scientific approach to creating and improving foods by isolating natural microbial strains, and then using automation and computation to reassemble them into super cultures to create new products. Those include everything from medical treatments for dogs, better-tasting plant-based yogurts and cheeses, natural preservatives that work better than artificial ones, and low-alcohol beers and wines that still taste good.
Sheth told Food Dive that he sees Kingdom Superculture’s laboratory as a “Willy Wonka factory for natural foods.”
“[We] make natural products that perform just as well as artificial, chemical-based products that access tastes and flavors that, in many cases, may not have ever been tasted or understood before.”
Ravi Sheth
Ravi Sheth
Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Kingdom Supercultures
The Impact
In 2021, Kingdom Supercultures provided some cultures to New York Restaurant Eleven Madison Park for a new, all-vegan menu. The company is also working with consumer goods manufacturers and global consumer packaged goods brands.
The benefits aren’t just for people, either. The company is now selling two super culture ingredients for pets: Superculture Pet Oral, which targets unwanted microbes that cause bad breath and poor oral health in dogs, and Superculture Pet Immune, which addresses itching, as well as skin and coat quality.
