Aimutis Discusses Future of Plant-Based Innovation on PBH Podcast

Bill Aimutis, Executive Director of the NC Food Innovation Lab (NCFIL), recently joined Celia Homyak, Co-Director of the Alt. Meat Lab at UC Berkeley, as a guest of The Plantbased Business Hour podcast. The pair answered the question, “What Innovations Are Taking Place at the World’s Best Food Lab?” 

Plant-Based Innovation Is Alive and Well

Amid recent major news outlets reporting that interest in the plant-based food industry is declining, Aimutis and Homyak confirm they are not experiencing a slowdown in their labs. NCFIL continues to work with food entrepreneurs, multinational food companies, and even consulting and engineering firms. In fact, they’re seeing innovation shift to next generation products. 

An interest in health benefits and concern over environmental impact serve as motivation for young entrepreneurs and large corporations to enter the plant-based food space. Aimutis says over the next few years, he expects to see more diversified products using new novel ingredients. Research focusing on extracting components from plants to make mixed botanical beverages and acquiring proteins from multiple sources will lead to new functionality and flavors, and more choices for consumers. 

Find Out More

To gain more insight into plant-based food trends and innovation, listen to the full podcast from October 20, 2022 here. 

We’d love to have you be a part of the future of plant-based foods. Reach out to us to get started.