UC Berkeley Launches Berkeley FoodTech Ingredients Lab to Pioneer Plant-Based Ingredient Innovation
Berkeley, CA — September 24, 2025. UC Berkeley’s Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (SCET) has announced the launch of the Berkeley Food Tech Ingredients Lab (BFIL), a new research and innovation hub dedicated to discovering and scaling novel plant-based ingredients that advance health, sustainability, and animal welfare.
This lab expands upon the success of the Alt:Meat Lab, founded in 2017, which has catalyzed global innovation in plant-based meat alternatives. With BFIL, UC Berkeley is broadening its focus to developing and refining natural compounds from plants that can replace or enhance traditional animal-based or synthetic ingredients in food, medicine, and consumer products.
From Plant to Ingredient: A New Approach
BFIL researchers use advanced methods such as artificial selection, machine learning, and computer vision to improve plant yield and functionality. By identifying specific plants with unique molecular properties, the lab helps unlock scalable solutions for industries ranging from food and beverage to pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
These approaches are exemplified by BFIL Director Ricardo San Martin’s work on soap bark trees (Quillaja saponaria), which produce saponins—a compound used in food and beverages, cosmetics, agriculture, and vaccines. By selecting and refining trees that yield higher levels of saponins while preserving sustainability, San Martin and his team created a platform now being developed by student-founded startup Evergreen Saponins. Their proprietary method allows for harvesting leaves instead of bark, protecting trees and ensuring a long-term supply of this critical ingredient.
A Platform for Startups and Industry
BFIL is designed not just as a research lab, but as a launchpad for entrepreneurship. By bridging UC Berkeley students, scientists, and industry leaders, the lab accelerates the commercialization of new ingredients through fostering startups, partnerships, and licensing opportunities.
“Food innovation is entering a new era,” said San Martin. “For years we have focused on replacing animal products with plant-based alternatives. Now we are going deeper—identifying plants with untapped potential and engineering them to provide healthy, scalable, and sustainable ingredients that industry can use for decades to come.”
Backed by Global Support
BFIL is supported by leading funders in health, environment, and animal welfare, including Open Philanthropy, which has provided more than $2 million in grant funding. The lab’s work aligns with global priorities in sustainable food systems, vaccine development, and healthy ingredient innovation.
“UC Berkeley has always been at the forefront of transformative science,” said Ken Singer, Managing Director and Chief Learning Officer at SCET. “With BFIL, we are creating a hub where discovery and entrepreneurship intersect, and where the next generation of ingredient companies can be born.”
About the Berkeley Food Tech Ingredients Lab
Its pillars are health, environment, and animal welfare.
Launched in 2025, the Berkeley Food Tech Ingredients Lab (BFIL) at UC Berkeley’s Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology is a research and innovation studio focused on plant-based ingredient discovery and commercialization. At BFIL, students, researchers, and startups explore, test, and scale food ingredient innovations, aiming to create healthier, more sustainable, and animal-free alternatives.
Media Contact
Keith McAleer
Chief Marketing Officer, SCET
scet.berkeley.edu
press@scet.berkeley.edu