Meati Foods™ Partners with Artificial Intelligence Leader PIPA to Accelerate Deeper Comprehension of Mushroom Root Health Benefits

The partnership will help Meati quickly expand its understanding of the attributes of its unique hero ingredient

BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Meati Foods, the producer of delicious, new whole-food protein cuts made from mushroom root, today announced a partnership with PIPA LLC, a leader in bringing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to life sciences and food. The application of PIPA’s AI will accelerate Meati’s understanding of the full range of health and nutrition benefits associated with its nutrient-dense whole food products based on mycelium, referenced more simply as “mushroom root.” The partnership with PIPA follows the formation of the Meati Science Advisory Board (MSAB) earlier this year, which includes experts in protein, health and nutrition from the University of California, Davis. In addition to helping Meati Foods better understand the health benefits of its current products across a multitude of consumer populations and segments, the company expects the partnerships with PIPA and MSAB will enable it to define opportunities for new products combining the great taste, nutrition and sustainability benefits of its hero ingredient.

“When founding Meati and unpacking what it would take to achieve global-scale impact on our food system, the requirements were monumental: It had to be a delicious, whole-food solution plucked from nature, rapidly scalable and, critically, hyper-nutritious,” said Dr. Justin Whiteley, Meati Foods’ co-founder and chief science officer. “We know Meati is a whole food containing a wide array of nutrients that can be valuable additions to anyone’s diet. AI is the perfect tool to help accelerate our understanding of exactly why including Meati products can improve the health of everyone at the family dinner table, and I can’t imagine pursuing this research without a world-class AI partner like PIPA. We are excited to get to work and share our findings with scientists, dieticians and the general public.”

Meati is already known to offer complete protein (PDCAAS 1.0), and the complex array of other nutrients naturally present in Meati products suggests the potential for positive impact on heart health, digestion, the immune system and blood glucose levels.

“Fungi, including mushrooms and their mycelium root-like structures, have a long history of enhancing the nutritional quality of diets in many cultures,” said Dr. Roberta Holt, a member of the UC Davis Department of Nutrition. “Working with the unique AI capabilities of PIPA provides us an unprecedented opportunity to advance our scientific understanding of how fungi-based products such as Meati can provide sustainable nutrition to benefit public health.”

“This research is in PIPA’s sweet spot of accelerating what’s possible at the intersection of food, nutrition and health,” said Eric Hamborg, chief commercial officer for PIPA. “We look forward to supporting Meati’s efforts to better understand how their unique star ingredient can benefit people’s health and improve nutrition now and in the future.”

Eat Meati™ is the debut product line from Meati Foods and is available in Sprouts, Fresh Thyme and Meijer grocery stores, as well as restaurants like PLNT Burger, Birdcall and Causwells. Most recently, the company announced a partnership with food service redistributor DOT Foods and its network of 5,200 distributors across all 50 states. Each whole-cut Meati product is made from mushroom root (Meati mycelium), offering complete protein, fiber and other key nutrients in one delicious serving.

About Meati Foods and Eat Meati™

Founded in 2017, Meati Foods is working to unlock a more delicious, nutritious, equitable and sustainable food system for everyone. Eat Meati™, the debut product line from Meati Foods, features cutlets and steaks made from mushroom root, a whole-food protein cultivated with a modernized version of ancient and natural processes that have helped preserve Earth's ecosystems for millennia. Eat Meati made its national retail debut in March 2023 after a year of record sellouts through its direct-to-doorstep online shop. A national omni-channel footprint is planned for late 2023. Meati's exceptional quality has won the enthusiastic support of icons, including Rachael Ray (cook, philanthropist and television personality); David Chang (chef and founder of Momofuku and Majordomo Media); Derek Jeter (MLB Hall of Fame member, investor and entrepreneur); John Foraker (Once Upon a Farm CEO and former Annie's Organic CEO); Nicolas Jammet and Jonathan Neman (co-founders of sweetgreen); and Sam Kass (former White House senior policy advisor for nutrition and partner at Acre Venture Partners).

About PIPA

PIPA is an Artificial Intelligence company established in 2015 in California. Their mission is to speed up discovery and innovation in the food, nutrition, and health space through AI. PIPA has partnered with CPG, ingredient, and life science companies on more than 65 programs to bring speed, accuracy, and scale to R&D cycles. From upstream discovery of bioactives and new ingredients for functional foods - all the way to designing disease predictor models and clinical trials, PIPA helps build business resilience and de-risk innovation opportunities.

With a deep bench of subject matter experts and a suite of AI platforms, purpose-built for Nutrition and Food R&D, PIPA shortens the path from discovery to commercialization, enabling the next generation of functional foods, ingredients and nutraceuticals. Learn more about us at pipacorp.com and follow us on LinkedIn for the latest news.