Doehler has announced a long-term strategic partnership with Ixora Scientific to discover and commercialize natural taste modulators derived from botanicals and cooperate around natural ingredient systems and integrated solutions for the global food and beverage industry.
Related: Doehler Expands with Customer-Facing Creation Center in New Jersey
Ixora Scientific is a San Diego-based start-up focusing on the research and development of novel taste modulators. With a fast-forward approach, within 18 months the Ixora team has developed a strong pipeline of modulators, using plants as starting material. The product portfolio comprises a sweet taste modulator designed to strengthen sweet taste intensity, delivering sugar mouthfeel and early onset; maskers for astringent, bitter, sour and plant protein off-tastes; and boosters for creaminess, alcohol spiciness, carbonation perception and vanilla profile. The company is currently focusing on patent applications and regulatory approval.
Paul Graham, Cluster Americas CEO at Doehler shared, "We are excited to partner with Ixora to drive innovation in the food and beverage industry, leveraging their expertise in natural taste modulators. Together, we'll explore new frontiers and bring novel solutions to the market, building on Doehler's heritage as one of the major ingredients companies in Germany."
Xiaodong Li, co-founder and CEO of Ixora added, "As a fresh start-up company, we are grateful for the partnership with Doehler. This will allow us to tap into their vast resources and expertise in flavor creation, application, and commercialization, while we focus on what we do best, which is research and discovery. It’s a win-win situation.”
Doehler is set to inaugurate a technological office and lab customer facility in North Brunswick that is said to act as the Ixora east coast collaboratory hub and will focus on the development and validation of thousand product applications. According to Doehler, flavorists will be on hand to help scale up Ixora solutions and work as experts in flavor forensics. The North Brunswick hub will add to the other Doehler locations in the United States, Pine Brook (New Jersey), Cartersville (Georgia), Chicago (Illinois), and Los Angeles (California).
