Quadram Institute spin-off raises £1m to develop functional soup

22 Jul 2020 ---UK-based The Smarter Food Company has raised £1 million (US$1.25 million) to accelerate the development of food products with health benefits. A spin-off from the Quadram Institute Bioscience, its first product will be a vegetable-based soup containing glucoraphanin, a naturally occurring compound found in broccoli. Clinical data suggest that a single weekly portion of such a soup reduces elevated blood glucose, a significant risk factor for the development of Type 2 diabetes.

“Our aim is to secure a European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) health claim and this will require further clinical studies, which are likely to take several years to complete. In the meantime we are exploring the possibility of making the product available online, without compromising our health claim application. [We are also looking at] launching in markets outside of Europe and the US, which are regulated differently,” Laura Knight, Chief Operating Officer of The Smarter Food Company, tells NutritionInsight.

The company will use this funding to confirm existing data that a once-weekly portion of the high-glucoraphanin soup reduces elevated blood glucose. It will also enable further R&D to develop the soup into a commercially attractive product.

Knight explains that the product is a light-weight dried “cup” soup with a long shelf life. “This approach provided benefits to the clinical trial, as well as being commercially attractive. We aim to make the product available directly to consumers,” she explains. In addition to soups, the product could lend itself to a range of possibilities including pasta sauces, drinks and snacks.

Speaking about the R&D challenges, she details that the main issue is ensuring that the quantity of glucoraphanin in every portion of soup is consistent. This can be difficult when working with a natural product that can vary from season to season. The company also still needs to understand how the compound responds to different food processing methods.

“We do have a system in place that enables us to blend the product to deliver a consistent quantity of glucoraphanin in every portion of soup. Ongoing R&D is providing us with critical data to show the impact of different processing techniques on the bioavailability of glucoraphanin in our recipes,” notes Knight.

“We are still developing the final formulation for commercialization. However, we don’t anticipate that it will differ very significantly nutritionally from other dried vegetable soups. The major difference will be that it may provide health benefits derived from its glucoraphanin content while tasting delicious. It should appeal to not only those people at risk of Type 2 diabetes, but also to the health conscious,” she continues.

Addressing the diabetic market
There is evidence that a glucoraphanin-containing soup may reduce cholesterol and have a beneficial impact on heart disease and various cancers, including prostate cancer. However, the researchers are primarily examining its ability to lower elevated blood glucose.

“At present, people who are diagnosed as pre-diabetic are advised to modify their diet and to ensure they exercise regularly. Incorporating a tasty soup once per week to help lower blood glucose is an easy addition to this advice,” says Professor Richard Mithen, Inventor and Lead Scientist, The Smarter Food Company.

“Type 2 diabetes is an enormous public health issue throughout the world. If we can help reduce the risk of populations developing Type 2 diabetes, this will positively impact healthcare systems and society worldwide,” says Knight.

Glucoraphanin is a naturally occurring compound found in broccoli.Type 2 diabetes has been a major area of innovation for industry in recent weeks, with a probiotic called Pendulum Glucose Control being shown to improve blood glucose spikes in people with the disease. However, an analysis earlier this month revealed that there is little evidence that vitamin, mineral and fish oil supplements protect against non-communicable diseases, like Type 2 diabetes.

Meanwhile, Joywell Foods is developing a sweet protein that can help reduce sugar. Yesterday, the company flagged that the 88 million US consumers with pre-diabetes are an example of “why we must urgently find solutions to help people consume less sugar while learning to eat better.”

A host of backers
The Smarter Food Company was formed with support from technology transfer specialists Plant Bioscience Ltd (PBL). The seed round was led by UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S), a specialist investor and partner of Norwich Research Park, where Quadram Institute is based). Additional participation came from Jonathan Milner and Oxford Technology Management. The company has also secured a grant from UKI2S Innovate Accelerator, a joint funding initiative with Innovate UK directed at early-stage science and engineering companies.

“This investment highlights the potential for providing delicious food products containing natural bioactive ingredients for health-conscious consumers,” says Dr. Georgina Pope, Business Development Manager of PBL and a director of The Smarter Food Company.

“As a founding investor, UKI2S is delighted to see the company well-positioned to translate the extensive research carried out by Professor Mithen into a product which will benefit consumers around the world,” adds Dr. Andrew Muir of UKI2S and Director of The Smarter Food Company.

By Katherine Durrell

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