Next Gen Nutrition Announces Strategic Investment In Bonumose

Joining Bonumose as Co-Chief Growth Advisors are James Cali (Cadbury/Mondelez/Kellogg’s) and Andrew Towle (Heinz/Kellogg’s/P&G)

Next Gen Nutrition Investment Fund, LP (NGN) is pleased to announce a strategic investment in Bonumose LLC, which has developed and patented an enzymatic technology platform for continuous production of high-purity rare sugars – such as tagatose and allulose – from low-cost, plant-based feedstocks (starch). In addition, James Cali and Andrew Towle, NGN’s general partners, have joined Bonumose as Co-Chief Growth Advisors.

Rare sugars have the potential to significantly disrupt the global sweetener market in both consumer and processed food applications. Bonumose’s lead products, tagatose and allulose, taste like sugar, have significantly fewer calories than normal sugar, have negligible glycemic index, are non-cariogenic, and perform like normal sugar in major applications such as baking, confectionary, beverages and frozen desserts. These rare sugars are well known by the global food industry, but prior to Bonumose’s patented technology and process they were never cost-effective enough for widespread application.

In addition to their investment, Cali and Towle will use their deep knowledge of consumer packaged foods to actively engage with Bonumose in several key areas, including helping Bonumose develop its global B2B business, and creating a consumer tabletop sweetener brand. In particular, they will focus on implementing a cohesive and engaging on-label messaging strategy for distribution partners and CPGs, highlighting the taste, functionality, and health benefits of tagatose and allulose.

Cali and Towle launched NGN earlier this year to capitalize on high-growth, disruptive and early-stage food and beverage companies that offer superior nutrition with a reduced impact on the planet. Cali has a 34-year record of success in general management, sales and marketing, and innovation in leading food companies such as Cadbury, Kraft/Mondelez and Kellogg’s. Prior to entering venture capital two years ago, he led Kellogg’s global snacks category team. His past leadership roles included president of Cadbury Adams Japan, as well as executive vice president and global director of Cadbury’s $5 billion gum and candy business. Cali has a proven track record in launching new businesses, building brands and business turnarounds and has been responsible for billion-dollar global brands such as Trident® gum, Halls® cough drops and Pringles®.

Towle has spent his professional life creating value for some of the world’s best-known CPG companies, including Procter & Gamble, Heinz, Georgia-Pacific and Kellogg’s. He has led transformational growth on some of the most iconic international brands, including Tide®, Pringles®, Heinz Ketchup®, Quilted Northern® and Special K® in North America and internationally. Towle also ran the Australia/New Zealand business for Kellogg’s from 2013 to 2015.

“We are thrilled to have Andrew and James join the Bonumose team, both as investors and advisors,” said Ed Rogers, co-founder and CEO of Bonumose. “Their investment supports our scale-up to commercial-scale production for tagatose and allulose B2B distribution. They will help us grow the Bonumose business to its true potential, especially with their expertise in building brands both in the US and internationally.”

“Bonumose offers a real disruptive breakthrough in the enormous global sweetener market,” said Cali. Their patented technology enables low-cost production of exotic sugars such as tagatose and allulose, making them affordable substitutes for regular sugar and high fructose corn syrup. This has the potential to dramatically improve the nutritional profile of thousands of everyday products.”

Towle added, “Bonumose perfectly fits the NGN investment thesis as a company that can dramatically improve nutrition in foods for an enormous number of people. But by using starch as the feedstock, Bonumose also has a strong environmental impact by upcycling otherwise wasted food streams.”

Bonumose mission is to “democratize nutritious sugar,” said Rogers. “We created Bonumose for the purpose of commercializing our enzymatic technology breakthrough to produce delicious, healthy tagatose—affordable for people of all income levels. Since then, Bonumose has developed methods for producing additional affordable healthy sugars, such as allulose, allose, mannose, and inositol.” Bonumose’s science team is led by Dr. Daniel Wichelecki, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer.

In addition to tagatose and allulose for the food industry, Cali and Towle will advise Bonumose on commercialization partnerships for new industries and revenue streams, including: dietary supplements (mannose, inositol, tagatose); crop protection (tagatose and mannose); animal nutrition & health (mannose, inositol, tagatose); pharmaceuticals (allose, mannose); and feedstocks for plant-based biochemicals (fructose).

About Bonumose LLC
Bonumose is a start-up enzyme technology company based in Charlottesville, Virginia, and backed by global strategic investors and “food as medicine”-focused institutional investors. Bonumose developed and patented an enzymatic technology platform for continuous production of high-purity rare sugars – such as tagatose and allulose – from low-cost, plant-based feedstocks (starch). Bonumose’s cost-advantaged process will make possible the mass-market adoption of healthy, great-tasting, fully-functional rare sugars. Furthermore, in addition to commodity starch, Bonumose’s process also can use by-product/side-stream starch left over from plant-based protein production such as pea protein and potato protein. Through global commercialization partnerships that will be announced in the near future, competitively-priced tagatose and allulose will be available for food & beverage companies and consumers in 2021. Additional products and applications are in the development pipeline. For more information, please visit www.bonumose.com.

About Next Gen Nutrition Investment Fund, LP
The Next Gen Nutrition Investment Fund invests in early and growth-stage companies in the food and beverage sector, focusing on businesses offering superior nutrition and a reduced impact to the planet, including branded food and beverages, food tech and superior food ingredients. As former consumer product executives with extensive experience in the food and beverage industry, the firm’s principals’ operational expertise will help these companies deliver superior business results and better returns for investors. For more information, please visit www.ngn-ip.com.