Revolutionizing sweetness: AHN and Shiru join forces for innovative AI-powered sweet proteins

01 Aug 2024 --- The artificial intelligence (AI)-powered protein discovery company Shiru has partnered with Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition North America (AHN) to discover and produce sweet proteins that can replace sugar and sweeteners in food and beverages (F&B) and specialty products without raising blood sugar levels.

The companies note that high blood sugar levels are associated with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and obesity.

The partnership will combine Shiru’s AI-driven discovery capabilities with AHN’s vast precision fermentation knowledge.

“As collective industry leaders, we believe this partnership will position both of us to be on the cutting-edge of what’s next in functional ingredients, specifically in protein, an increasing category of interest for consumers,” says Ryan Smith, the chief growth officer and executive VP of ANH.

“At Shiru we share ANH’s vision of eating well and living well,” explains Dr. Jasmin Hume, CEO and founder of Shiru. “Together our companies are now using artificial intelligence to supercharge this mission, which we are very excited for.”

The companies have not disclosed the financial terms of the partnership.

The “Holy Grail” of functional ingredients
Sweet proteins are derived from a small number of berries and fruits that are native to equatorial locations. The companies note that though the proteins show promise, they also face taste and stability challenges. 

However, Shiru points out that sweet proteins could represent a sustainable alternative to sugar and high-fructose corn syrup production. Moreover, the company says the ingredient offers up to 5,000 times more sweetness than sugar and could potentially replace 70–90% of sugars in F&B products.

Shiru states it will use its patented Flourish AI platform to discover unknown food-safe and natural proteins — what the companies say represent the “Holy Grail” of sweetening ingredients.

“AHN conducted a tremendous amount of due diligence and determined that partnering with Shiru provides them access to a landscape of protein solutions that is truly differentiated and represents the fastest way to discover and develop commercially valuable sweet proteins across their product lines,” says Shiru Founder and CEO Dr. Jasmin Hume. 

“We are already identifying high-value, natural, scalable proteins for AHN’s brands, which we know will positively impact human and planetary health alike.”

Sweeter and healthier
The companies reveal that the body metabolizes sweet proteins differently than it does sugar. Because of this, sweet proteins do not cause blood sugar levels to spike when consumed. Consuming sugar causes the body to metabolize it into glucose and fructose, which triggers the pancreas to release insulin. Insulin then signals cells in the body to absorb glucose so it can be stored and used later for energy.

Sweet proteins do not trigger an insulin release. Rather, they are digested and absorbed in the same way as all dietary proteins. This alternative metabolic path could help manage blood sugar and diabetes. Because of this, the companies say the ingredient is not harmful to the gut microbiome.

“We believe in working with partners and solutions that uniquely complement our century-plus of expertise in the ingredient space, our expansive portfolio of products for improving nutrition, and our dedicated and talented team around the globe,” Smith underscores.

“This partnership, and our balanced strengths, will allow us to identify natural proteins for use as sweeteners across numerous applications to meet the changing demands of the food industry and what consumers expect.”