Nesta’s Impact Investments team backs tech ventures working in areas aligned with our 2030 impact goals. Nesta’s healthy life mission looks to increase healthy life expectancy while narrowing health inequalities. Nesta Impact Investments is delighted to support Ambrosia Bio’s $2.5 million SAFE round.  

The company has developed an end-to-end technological process, including long-lasting enzymes which can convert relatively cheap sugars like table sugar into rare sugars such as allulose. Allulose has very similar properties to sugar but with only ~10% of the calories, making it attractive as a form of sugar replacement. Cost has been a big barrier to using allulose in countries where it has approval. Ambrosia Bio solves this problem as its technology is able to produce allulose at a significantly lower cost than has been possible before now.

With 28% of people in the UK classified as obese, and a further 36% as overweight, there is a massive need for lower-calorie food ingredients. The link between excess sugar consumption, weight gain and obesity is well understood and documented, with the UK government focusing on sugar reduction as part of its obesity plan announced in 2016. Policies to tax sugary drinks and restrict the promotion of high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) products have also come into force and reinforce the need for changes to product lines. 

There is a high level of ‘sugar awareness’ in the UK and reducing sugar intake remains an ongoing consumer trend, with 82% of global consumers agreeing that reduced sugar products are healthier according to a 2023 study by Kerry. At the same time, consumers are increasingly concerned about the negative health effects of artificial sweeteners and are looking for products which have natural, clean label sugar alternatives. 

However, replacement of sugar in food and beverage products has been a long-standing industry challenge. Current alternatives either do not meet the functional and sensory performance of sugar or are too expensive to enable mass-market reformulation. This is where Ambrosia Bio comes in - they enable the cost-effective replacement of sugar. Commercialisation of their technology could have a significant long-term impact in reducing obesity, while allowing consumers to enjoy the same products that they eat today.

Developed in stealth mode over three years, Ambrosia Bio is ready to launch and ready for full commercial scale-up. Its technology can be integrated into existing production facilities and it offers an end-to-end service to support partners with the scale-up of their allulose production. In the long term, Ambrosia Bio is looking to expand its range of enzymes to cover additional rare sugars and dietary fibres. 

If you are a sugar producer or food and beverage brand who is interested in learning more about allulose, please get in touch at [email protected].