Candy and snacks giant Mars Inc. earlier this month announced the addition of 14 venture-stage companies to its “Unreasonable Food” partnership.
The initiative, formed last year by Mars and investment firm Unreasonable Group, aims to combat some of the most pressing challenges across the global food supply chain, including sustainability and emissions levels.
The initiative’s strategic focus, in particular, centers on scaling sustainable ingredients, developing sustainable food colorings, and reducing emissions from dairy cattle.
Newly added participants include Alga Biosciences, which pioneered a cattle feed additive to slash methane emissions; Oobli, which aims to replace sugar with sweet proteins extracted from plants; and Octarine Bio, which utilizes fermentation to produce natural colorings.
"Addressing the challenges in our food system is a task bigger than any one organization," Amanda Davies, the chief R&D, procurement and sustainability officer at Mars Snacking, said in a statement. "That's why it's so important to build a collaborative ecosystem — connecting brilliant minds behind pioneering ventures with scaled industry leaders — so we can help unlock new possibilities and accelerate the transformation toward a more resilient future."
