Angel Yeast to research and develop probiotics as part of biotech transformation strategy

27 Aug 2024 --- Shanghai, China-based yeast manufacturer Angel Yeast opens a new probiotics R&D facility Xizang Angel Zhufeng Biotechnology. The probiotic products it will produce have application in food, healthcare and agriculture, among other industries. Production will focus on three main industrialized strains.

“We collected and preserved over 1,800 bacterial strains and identified the ones to be industrialized,” says He Xinzhang, general manager of Angel Yeast’s subsidiary in Xizang.

“Now we not only have the patent-licensed probiotic strains but also own the independent intellectual property rights of the production process, which together build up our competitive advantages in the market. And as we expand the probiotics project in Xizang, we’re also building a local talent pipeline of management, finance and equipment professionals.”

The three bacterial strains that Angel Yeast’s probiotics venture will focus on include Lactobacillus plantarum S, which boasts a strong acid-producing capacity and fermentation results and will be utilized in food and agriculture production; PB-8, which will mostly be used in dairy products; and Streptococcus thermophilus, which will prevent the further acidification of yogurt and maintain taste.

According to general manager He, his R&D team visited herders in high-altitude regions to collect dairy products, yak and cow waste to complete microbial resources census collection and evaluation.

The new facility is part of Angel Yeast’s strategic roadmap to accelerate development and innovation. 

The company is developing four new key biotech sectors — microorganisms and cell cultures, biocatalysis and enzymes, biomaterials and biotechnology services. Meanwhile, it strives to promote the applications of synthetic biology in the fields of healthcare, bio-agriculture and biomaterials, among others.

The company presented its yeast protein solution at the Growth Asia summit held last month in Singapore.

Angel Yeast also recently introduced its protein nougat alongside healthy food brand partner ffit8. 

Zhang Yan, dean of the Angel Yeast Research Institute, told Nutrition Insight that microbial fermentation-derived yeast has the potential as a sustainable alternative to animal and plant-derived protein.