June 11, 2020

By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media

Plant-based food leader Danone North America announced its partnership with AI-driven biosciences company Brightseed with the goal of unlocking so-far unknown health and nutrition benefits of key plant sources. 

Reflective of a new era in precision nutrition, San-Francisco-based Brightseed is the developer of the world’s first AI platform designed to discover phytonutrients (such as antioxidants) on a molecular level that have positive health implications. 

“Brightseed’s artificial intelligence technology gives us deep insight into the plant kingdom, finds nutrients that we know are important for promoting health, and accelerates the validation of these findings,” said Takoua Debeche, SVP Research & Innovation, Danone North America.

At a point when healthy lifestyles and wellness are key factors playing into consumer preferences, demand for plant-based foods is soaring.

Diets are evolving to be more fluid in nature, with consumers including more plant-based options, including dairy consumers increasingly opting for plant-based alternatives, based on the understanding that a balanced diet including fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes can result in a more positive health outcome.

However, less than 1 percent of existing phytonutrients have been identified or studied, according to a statement announcing the partnership.

Brightseed is currently working to address this fact by indexing the world’s edible plants and their phytonutrients to map them to specific human health targets. These findings are then validated by the team with biological and clinical trials. 

“Brightseed’s artificial intelligence technology gives us deep insight into the plant kingdom, finds nutrients that we know are important for promoting health, and accelerates the validation of these findings,” said Debeche.

As Danone North America is the name behind iconic plant-based food and beverage brands such as Silk® and So Delicious Dairy Free®, this multi-phased partnership will initially focus on soy.

Soybeans are one of the most nutrient-dense, high-quality sources of plant protein available as a key vegan ingredient. And currently, Brightseed is working to identify potential new molecular connections between select compounds in Danone’s raw soy and health benefits that had not been aligned with soy in the past. 

“At Brightseed we believe that we’re at the tipping point of significantly activating food for health and wellness. We analyze plants at the molecular level in order to understand the specific roles that nutrients play in the proper functioning of our bodies,” said Sofia Elizondo, co-founder and COO, Brightseed.

The insights that Brightseed brings to the table will isolate even greater potential health benefits that remain undiscovered in one of the most popular food sources, and will enable Danone North America to accelerate nutritional innovations across its brand portfolio.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Danone North America as they are equally committed to bringing health through food. Danone North America also believes in the important role that high quality, nutrient-rich diets play in supporting human health, while delivering across brands and products that consumers trust and love.”

This is the second progressive strategic partnership announced by Danone North America since the beginning of the year. In January, the company announced a partnership with rePlant Capital, a first-of-its-kind financial services firm, that brings together a range of impact investors and family foundations dedicated to addressing some of the greatest challenges we face from climate change.

As part of the partnership, rePlant will invest up to $20 million, or 40 percent of its $50 million impact investing fund, to support Danone North America’s farming partners with expenses related to transitioning to regenerative or organic farming with the goal of increasing biodiversity, strengthening ecosystems, and improving the soil.

Danone committed to regenerative ag in 2018 when it announced its intentions to invest $6 million over the next five years into a ground-breaking soil research initiative with renowned experts and academic leaders to build best-in-class soil programs. 

Today, Danone continues to work on pursuing new operational models with its farmers for the advancement and adoption of sustainable farming practices.

– Lynda Kiernan is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, and HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She is also a contributor to the GAI Gazette. She can be reached at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.