Selected to team up with multinational leaders including Nestle, GrainCorp and Tate & Lyle to fuel groundbreaking transformation in Food and Agriculture
PHILADELPHIA, PA - September 25, 2018: TERRA, the leading Food and Agriculture Accelerator, has selected Opertech Bio into its third cohort kicking off next week in San Francisco – near the tech campus of RocketSpace – one of the program’s founding partners. Opertech was selected as one of the 17 most innovative startups from across the globe to work alongside industry giants including founding partner Rabobank, as well as AgroFresh, Beta San Miguel, Graincorp, Griffith Foods, Grupo Azuca de Mexico, Nestle USA, OSI and Tate & Lyle.
As part of the TERRA program, Opertech will be working with Tate & Lyle on a project focused on an industry wide objective of reducing the amount of sugar in food and beverage products without compromising taste. Opertech will use its TāStation® (Taste+Station) technology, the first automated high throughput system for rapid characterization of taste sensory properties.
Founded in 2016, TERRA is a global innovation accelerator fueling groundbreaking transformation in Food & Agriculture in order to advance the well-being of our people and our planet. The program brings together experts, decision-makers, and innovators across the entire value chain - fostering connections that catapult major breakthroughs into scalable solutions by pairing emerging growth companies with established multinationals, in a pilot-driven engagement that leads to tangible results.
“TERRA provides us with access to a number of food industry giants in a vibrant environment working alongside fellow entrepreneurs on the cutting edge of science and technology,” said Scott Horvitz, Opertech’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Acceptance into the TERRA program is a further endorsement of Opertech Bio’s unique taste science platform,” he added.
The TERRA team reviewed hundreds of applications from emerging growth companies around the world, shortlisting 160 applicants for only 17 spots. Startups selected represent eight countries. Unlike other accelerators, TERRA does not require equity from selected startups. They must have a product in market/ready to launch and have raised a minimum of seed-funding, better positioning them for productive pilot partnerships with corporate collaborators.
For more information on TERRA, please visit www.terraaccelerator.com.
About Tate & Lyle Tate & Lyle is a global provider of solutions and ingredients for food, beverage and industrial markets. Tate & Lyle operates through two global divisions, Food & Beverage Solutions and Primary Products, supported by the Innovation and Commercial Development and Global Operations teams. Food & Beverage Solutions is focused on growth by building leading positions globally in the categories of beverages, dairy, and soups, sauces and dressings. Primary Products is focused on delivering steady earnings and generating cash. Food & Beverage Solutions consists of: Texturants, including speciality starches; Sweeteners, including low- and no-calorie sweeteners; a Health and Wellness portfolio comprising mainly speciality fibres; and Stablisers and Functional Systems, which are bespoke ingredient blends that ensure foods retain their structure.
Primary Products consists of high-volume sweeteners, industrial starches and fermentation products (primarily acidulants). It also sells co-products from the corn milling process as animal nutrition. Tate & Lyle is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol TATE.L. American Depositary Receipts trade under TATYY. In the year to 31 March 2018, Tate & Lyle sales totalled £2.7 billion. For more information, please visit http://www.tateandlyle.com.
About Opertech Bio, Inc.
Opertech Bio is a service-based business offering its customers a pioneering approach to measuring taste, a multi-billion dollar market covering the food and beverage, flavor ingredients, pet food, and pharmaceutical industries. Opertech Bio’s technology can be used to discover new flavor ingredients, measure palatability and optimize flavor formulations. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.opertechbio.com.
CONTACT AT:
Opertech Bio:
Scott Horvitz
Chief Executive Officer
(267) 534-3248
shorvitz@opertechbio.com