Elo Life Systems, a next-generation ingredient company reimagining the future of food, announced the appointment of Alan Berry as chief scientific officer and Matt Roszell as senior vice president of communications and corporate affairs.
Molecular farming produces sought-after ingredients that are difficult to harvest from natural sources and cannot be synthesized through artificial or other techniques, such as precision fermentation. Elo uses crops as biofactories, enabling commercial-scale production of highly desirable ingredients while reducing their environmental footprint. Elo's first product is a natural sweetener that is 300 times sweeter than sugar without calories.
Launching in 2025, it can be used in thousands of food and beverage products to reduce sugar and artificial sweeteners while enhancing nutrition. The company is also pursuing production of other novel proteins and bioactives in plants that deliver more accessible nutrition via sustainable methods of production. And in partnership with major corporate partners and other organizations, Elo is protecting staple crops that are key to diets around the world from the effects of disease and climate change.
As chief scientific officer, Berry will lead Elo's R&D team in producing natural plant-based ingredients using its molecular farming platform. This includes Elo's existing products, as well as identifying pathways for additional novel ingredient targets. Berry will also help grow the team as Elo expands into new labs that will double the size of its R&D space. He brings more than 30 years of synthetic biology expertise and R&D leadership across startups and multinational companies.
As senior vice president of communications and corporate affairs, Roszell will drive awareness of Elo's mission and vision with key external stakeholders, including consumer, industry, health, science and policy groups; build corporate brand reputation through engaging marketing and PR campaigns; and enhance workplace culture through engagement with Elo's diverse teams. Roszell is an award-winning storyteller who brings more than 25 years of experience across sectors, including technology, media, consumer goods, food- and biotech. Most recently, Roszell was vice president of Marketing and Communications with Motif FoodWorks.
Elo announced the close of a $24.5M Series A round in February of 2023, using the funding to develop new ingredients via molecular farming, including its plant-based sweetener, novel proteins, and high-value flavors and bio-actives. The company is also focused on efforts to protect and increase the productivity of staple crops, such as the creation of a fungal-resistant banana to save the fruit from extinction.
