Insempra Introduces Fermentation-Based Functional Ingredient For Consumer Goods

Insempra, a biology-powered firm that enables businesses to create superior goods with nature, has announced the release of its first functional component, a biotechnologically created, 100% natural alpha-Ionone flavour and fragrance ingredient for food and cosmetic market applications. Insempra has teamed with Axxence Aromatic GmbH, a prominent manufacturer and distributor of natural scent compounds, to promote the product to food and beauty manufacturers worldwide. Axxence has started supplying the goods to consumers under the terms of the agreement since the beginning of 2023.

Alpha-ionone is an aroma molecule found in essential oils extracted mostly from natural sources such as raspberries, almonds, and blackberries. Unlike chemically manufactured racemic alpha-Ionone aromas, Insempra's natural product has a more defined and purer aroma achieved by selectively producing only the desired enantiomer, (R)-alpha-Ionone, resulting in a uniquely superior, deep and fresh violet and raspberry aroma that can be applied as a high-quality flavour and fragrance to a variety of consumer products.

Phytowelt Green Technologies GmbH developed Insempra's fermentation-based alpha-Ionone, which is an EU-natural certified, vegan, food-grade component. The capabilities of Insempra's biotechnology platform, together with Axxence's market access, ensure that flavour and fragrance makers regularly produce high-quality products. "With the introduction of this superior alpha-Ionone aroma, Insempra demonstrates its distinct approach to technology onboarding, scaling, and rapid go-to-market capabilities in the delivery of the next generation of sustainable, biotechnologically produced functional ingredients," says Jens Klein, CEO and founder of Insempra.

"We are able to deliver a 100% natural, fermentation-based functional ingredient for food and beauty applications that is truly superior to natural or synthetic alternatives by identifying a market-driven need for a more sustainable ingredient solution and finding the right partners." "We are extremely pleased with our collaboration with Insempra," says Ron Honing, CEO of Axxence. "We successfully launched (R)-alpha-Ionone into the market." With the help of Insempra, we will now embark on a new path that will increase market speed and cost-effectiveness.

We will study the natural aroma component chain together and deliver additional sustainable ingredient options that definitely deserve the EU Natural badge." With consumer demand rising for products with 100% natural ingredients that are healthy for humans as well as the planet, Insempra’s mission is to collaborate with nature to develop sustainable and scalable ingredient solutions for broad market applications. The production of raspberry aroma by farming would require more than a hundred tonnes of raspberries, which translates to approximately 40 football fields of cultivated acreage – a highly unsustainable use of land that is equally disproportionate in its output.

The alternatives to naturally derived alpha-Ionone are chemically manufactured aroma replicas which are currently broadly used in consumer goods. The trend towards natural ingredients is driving the biotechnological production of aromas which in this example could be done with just one production run on a small-scale fermenter compared to the exorbitant land use if extracted from nature.