Axiom Foods and NNB Nutrition have entered into a strategic partnership to support food and beverage brands in developing the next generation of "Protein+" plant-based functional nutrition products for markets across North America and Asia. By combining their expertise, the two companies aim to meet the rapidly growing global demand for functional food ingredients, a market currently valued at $437.6 billion and projected to reach $983.2 billion by 2034, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.7%.

The collaboration brings together Axiom Foods, a leading U.S. supplier of plant-based protein ingredients, and NNB Nutrition, a specialist in innovative functional nutrition ingredients. Their combined capabilities are designed to help manufacturers create premium protein products that deliver multiple health benefits within a single formulation. Visitors can learn more about the partnership at IFT 2026, taking place in Chicago from July 12–15, where the companies will exhibit at Booth #1426.

Recognized for their science-driven and clean-label ingredient portfolios, the two companies offer complementary strengths for product developers. Axiom Foods supplies an extensive range of plant proteins, including rice, pea, chickpea, fava bean and pumpkin proteins, along with oat- and rice-based dairy alternatives. NNB Nutrition contributes functional ingredients that target areas such as healthy aging, cognitive wellness, mood enhancement, hydration and metabolic support. Its "Rethink the Drink" ingredient platform is specifically designed to improve sweetness, flavor and overall functionality in plant-based beverage formulations. Together, the companies aim to help brands capitalize on increasing consumer interest in multifunctional protein products.

The partnership is focused on a wide variety of applications, including plant-based dairy alternatives, sugar-free beverages, ready-to-drink products, powdered supplements, stick packs and sports and active nutrition products.

The growing "Protein+" category reflects consumers' preference for products that combine high-quality protein with additional functional ingredients to provide multiple wellness benefits. One major factor driving this trend is the widespread adoption of GLP-1 medications, now used by approximately 15 million American adults, or around 12% of the U.S. population. Reduced food intake associated with these therapies has increased demand for nutrient-dense, protein-rich nutritional products.

"The share of new food and beverage launches featuring high-protein or added-protein claims has doubled over the past decade," said David Janow, Founder and CEO of Axiom Foods. "Protein has evolved beyond being a standalone nutrient and is increasingly serving as the foundation for delivering additional functional benefits. Industry research from Mintel and Innova highlights protein as the 'gateway nutrient,' making our partnership with NNB particularly valuable for brands seeking innovative formulation opportunities."

According to Kylin Liao, Founder and President of NNB Nutrition, consumer awareness of protein's importance continues to rise, while demand for plant-based alternatives has accelerated due to the higher cost and limited availability of whey protein. He noted that combining protein with clinically supported functional ingredients presents a significant opportunity for innovation. Through the partnership, Axiom contributes versatile plant-protein and beverage bases, while NNB adds targeted functional ingredients, flavor optimization technologies and formulation expertise to help brands create products suitable for everyday consumption.

One of the longstanding formulation challenges in plant-based and functional nutrition has been achieving excellent taste. Plant proteins often introduce earthy or grain-like flavors, while many bioactive ingredients can contribute bitterness or lingering aftertastes. The partnership addresses these challenges by combining Axiom's neutral-tasting plant proteins and grain-based milk alternatives with NNB's SweetVantage natural sweetening technology, which utilizes patented Stevia Reb M9 and has demonstrated superior performance in electronic tongue and sensory evaluations compared with other natural sweeteners. SweetVantage+ further enhances taste by incorporating brazzein, a naturally sweet, calorie-free protein that effectively masks bitterness while delivering sweetness comparable to artificial sweeteners.

Axiom Foods Product Portfolio

NuCicer, an agri-food technology company pioneering ultra-high protein chickpeas by leveraging the rich biodiversity of wild chickpea relatives, announced today the completion of a new seed investment round. Leaps by Bayer, the impact investing arm of Bayer AG, along with Lever VC, Blue Horizon, and Trellis Road, led the funding round, which follows an earlier investment round led by Lever VC in October 2021.

It will enable NuCicer to scale production of its first-generation chickpea varieties with 75% higher protein content, with the goal of reducing chickpea protein ingredient costs by 50% and expanding existing work with downstream partners and customers to bring affordable, sustainable plant proteins to end-consumers by 2023.

NuCicer's machine learning and genome-guided breeding platform is revolutionizing the plant protein industry by increasing the protein content of chickpeas, a high-demand but high-cost protein source, in order to lower production costs and meet consumer demand. Professor Douglas Cook at UC Davis, the world's preeminent expert on chickpea genetics and NuCicer's co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer, led decades of scientific research that is at the heart of the technology.

The Company's vast germplasm library integrates wild chickpea genetics with elite cultivars through cross breeding, creating desirable traits that support major opportunities at every stage of the food system. It has 40x more genetic diversity than commercial varieties.

Long-term food system stability is dependent on increasing crop climate resilience. Chickpeas are naturally climate resilient, with high water-use efficiency and nitrogen fixation capabilities that aid in soil regeneration. NuCicer's genomic-guided breeding platform enables the discovery of genetic controls for key traits that improve climate resilience, such as heat tolerance, drought tolerance, acidic soil tolerance, and disease resistance.

“Expanding affordable, scalable plant protein beyond currently available soy ingredients is a critical and urgent need for our food system. Today’s investment round is a significant moment for both NuCicer and the wider plant protein market,” said Kathryn Cook, CEO and Co-Founder, NuCicer. “With Leaps by Bayer’s support, we look forward to taking the next step in our journey: driving natural ingredient technologies to the next level and bringing improved plant-based products to market.”

The work to develop innovative protein solutions aligns with both companies' strategic goals of providing next generation healthy crops and developing sustainable protein supplies globally, which are two of the ten investment goals of Leaps by Bayer. Protein is essential for a healthy human diet, but current animal proteins have a significant environmental impact. It is critical to have access to low-cost, climate-resilient plant-based alternatives in order to decarbonize the food supply chain and meet global emissions reduction targets.

“Leaps by Bayer was founded on the principle of driving real change to the world we live in via our investments, and NuCicer is an ideal example of how we’re working collaboratively to make a positive difference,” commented Dr. Jürgen Eckhardt, Head of Leaps by Bayer. “NuCicer is a fascinating business that we believe will assist the development of climate resilient, natural, and plant-based protein alternatives that will help decarbonize our food supply chains.”

Leaps by Bayer's fourth investment in the alternative protein supply sector is NuCicer. Along with investing in cutting-edge technology firms like NuCicer, Bayer also works to help farmers increase production with fewer inputs while also supporting their decarbonization efforts, as part of Bayer's overall goal of reducing agriculture's environmental impact by 30%.