Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. is a producer and marketer of plant-based food and beverage products. The company has a science-based approach to develop crops, primarily in wheat, designed to enhance farm economics by improving the performance of crops in the field, as well as their value as food ingredients.
The company has utilized non-genetically modified (‘non-GMO’) advanced breeding techniques to develop proprietary innovations that are now being commercialized through the sales of seed and gra...
Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. is a producer and marketer of plant-based food and beverage products. The company has a science-based approach to develop crops, primarily in wheat, designed to enhance farm economics by improving the performance of crops in the field, as well as their value as food ingredients.
The company has utilized non-genetically modified (‘non-GMO’) advanced breeding techniques to develop proprietary innovations that are now being commercialized through the sales of seed and grain, food ingredients and products, trait licensing, and royalty agreements. The acquisition of the assets of Live Zola, LLC (‘Zola’) has added coconut water to the company's portfolio of products.
The company’s commercial strategy aims to satisfy consumer nutrition demands with the superior functional benefits its crops deliver directly from the farm, enabling the sharing of premium economics throughout the ag-food supply chain and the building of a world-class estate of high-value traits and varieties. The acquisition of the Zola brand allows for an expanded reach within the beverage sector.
Growth Strategy
There are significant opportunities to grow the business by executing the following elements of the strategy:
Accelerate the monetization of the GoodWheat wheat trait portfolio: The proprietary intellectual property (‘IP’) with multiple non-GMO wheat traits has clear functional benefits, and the company will continue to build partnerships across the wheat value chain. GoodWheat has been launched into multiple categories where the wheat provides a point-of-difference, and the company will continue to evaluate ways to extract value throughout the supply chain.
Evaluate scale M&A opportunities: The company intends to evaluate potential mergers, acquisitions, and other strategic opportunities that will allow for a quicker scaling of the GoodWheat value proposition. There is a significant opportunity to integrate the wheat IP and GoodWheat brand into larger businesses and drive shareholder value.
Scale Zola through retail expansion: Research indicates that consumers prefer the clean, crisp taste of Zola to that of other leading coconut water brands. Consequently, the company plans to continue investing in trial-driving activities and expand the distribution of the Zola coconut water brand through mass-market retailers and grocery store chains.
Arcadia Wellness, LLC
In May 2021, the wholly owned subsidiary Arcadia Wellness, LLC (‘Arcadia Wellness’ or ‘AW’) acquired the businesses of Eko, Lief, and Zola. The acquisition included Saavy Naturals, a line of natural body care products, Soul Spring, a CBD-infused botanical therapy brand in the natural category, and ProVault, a THC-free CBD sports performance formula made with natural ingredients, providing effective support and recovery for athletes (collectively referred to as ‘body care brands’). The purchase also included Zola, a coconut water sourced exclusively from sustainably grown coconuts from Thailand.
On July 8, 2022, the company entered into an agreement to license Saavy Naturals to Radiance Beauty and Wellness, Inc. (‘Radiance Beauty’).
Product Portfolio
GoodWheat Pasta
In June 2022, the company launched GoodWheat pasta in five varieties – penne, spaghetti, fettuccine, elbows, and rotini – in select retailers nationwide and on Amazon. This pasta delivers four times the fiber of traditional wheat pasta with 9g of protein per serving, without sacrificing taste. Made exclusively with USA farm-grown wheat, GoodWheat pasta meets consumers’ preference for clean labels and transparent sourcing. In December 2022, GoodWheat received the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check mark on all pasta products. With its high fiber, lower sodium, and zero saturated fat, GoodWheat meets the criteria for a heart-healthy pasta, providing consumers with a better-for-you option that delivers superior nutrition with the taste and texture of traditional pasta.
GoodWheat Pancakes and Waffle Mixes
In August 2023, the company introduced GoodWheat into the breakfast category with new, better-for-you pancake and waffle mixes, as well as single-serve Quikcakes. These mixes are made with simple ingredients and Arcadia’s proprietary wheat grain, which is naturally higher in fiber and protein than traditional wheat. GoodWheat pancake and waffle mixes are sold in resealable, multi-serve pouches, with each serving delivering fiber and 5 grams of protein. The multi-serve mixes are available in three classic varieties: Buttermilk, Chocolate Chocolate Chip, and Apple Cinnamon. GoodWheat Quikcakes are innovative, single-serve instant pancakes that are ideal for busy mornings. Quikcakes contain fiber and provide 7 grams of protein per serving, available in three flavors: Buttermilk, Chocolate Chocolate Chip, and Confetti.
GoodWheat Mac and Cheese
In November 2023, the company announced the third GoodWheat category, Mac and Cheese. This product is made with real cheese and contains no artificial flavors, dyes, or preservatives, available in three varieties: Classic Cheddar, White Cheddar, and Three Cheese. GoodWheat Mac and Cheese boasts high fiber content in the category.
Zola Coconut Water
Zola is a pure, natural, 100% coconut water with a crisp, clean taste that is lightly sweet and refreshing. Naturally hydrating and never from concentrate, Zola is Non-GMO Project Verified and contains only 60 calories per serving.
GoodWheat Wheat Traits
Enhanced Quality Grains
The GoodWheat brand also encompasses the company's current and future non-GMO wheat portfolio of high fiber Resistant Starch (RS), Reduced Gluten (RG) wheat varieties, and extended shelf-life wheat, as well as future wheat innovations. The company holds 24 global patents on its high fiber RS wheat, protecting both bread wheat and durum (pasta) wheat. Claims granted recently strengthen the company's intellectual property (IP) for its RS portfolio of products.
The company's GoodWheat wheat traits redesign wheat as a functional food adding value to the wheat supply chain by enabling a wider range of choices to meet consumer demands. One such program generated multiple bread wheat and pasta wheat lines with very high levels of amylose, leading to increased levels of resistant starch. Resistant starch increases the total dietary fiber content of wheat and reduces its glycemic index, which are both desirable nutritional qualities that are important in the management of diabetes and healthy blood glucose levels. High fiber resistant starch wheat can deliver fiber and other benefits to refined white flour products and also whole grain food products.
High Fiber RS Wheat
The company's high fiber RS wheat provides a source of wheat with inherently high levels of resistant starch, increasing the total dietary fiber content of food products without the need for fiber additives from other sources. Corn resistant starch is a product in two market segments: dietary fiber additives and modified starch additives. Major growth in these markets is being driven by the convenience health food sector and functional food sector. Flour from the company's RS wheat lines has resistant starch levels that are 12 to 20 times higher than the control wheat, and total dietary fiber, or TDF, which is more than eight times higher than the control. RS wheat flour has been tested in applications in bread, where loaf quality was comparable to bread made with conventional wheat flour, and pasta, where it had the highest consumer preference rankings in tests carried out by a major consumer products company.
RS wheat bread flour is being introduced to North American bakery and consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies by the company's partners, Bay State Milling. In markets outside North America, RS wheat is being tested in a range of additional bakery, ready-to-eat cereals and pasta products with industrial partners. The company has many RS wheat lines that are being evaluated for optimal quality and agronomic characteristics.
RG Wheat
Arcadia is continuing to advance a new wheat variety with reduced gluten levels. The company's proprietary, non-GMO wheat variety developed using advanced screening and plant breeding techniques have reduced allergenic glutens and increased essential amino acids, such as lysine, along with all the other health benefits of high protein wheat. Importantly, this variety also delivers impressively high fiber content at approximately 14 grams per serving compared to 2-3 grams per serving of traditional wheat, providing additional value to health-conscious consumers, as well as optionality as it advances the commercialization of this project. The company is breeding the trait into additional commercial wheat varieties and working with food processors to give people a choice to enjoy higher quality wheat in the products they love while reducing gluten in their diet.
Improved Shelf Life of Whole Grain Flour
The company's improved stability and flavor wheat lines greatly reduced the production of rancid and bitter compounds in milled whole grain flour as it progresses through the supply chain. Whole wheat flour from these lines is being tested further for sensory characteristics and improved shelf-life stability. This new trait could help improve the shelf life and flavor profile of whole grain products, thus reducing formulation costs and increasing consumer preference and palatability for whole grains.
Product Development
With the company’s food and beverage products entering the market, the company is firmly in the commercialization phase of its corporate lifecycle. The company is de-emphasizing new trait discovery research and development (R&D) and is increasing its focus on food-science innovation to fully leverage the value in its existing superior wheat genetics. The company is evolving its organizational capabilities to match this strategy progression to include in-house food formulation and CPG supply chain expertise.
Food Formulation Innovation: The company will expand the application of its innovation platform to build on its pipeline of products focused on health and wellness. The company's innovation team is focused on using science-based solutions to leverage its wheat and hemp varieties to develop an array of food products and wellness ingredients. Because the company is innovating directly from its own well-established plant technology traits, it expects this extension of its involvement will provide more meaningful improvements.
Field Trials and Breeder & Foundation Seed Production: The company's trait evaluation and development staff conducts field operations for both trials and production in American Falls, Idaho, and oversee production in other areas of the country, as needed. Similarly, regulatory trials may be needed to develop data for use in submissions for regulatory review and may involve plant varieties developed by the company's collaborators or its own oil quality and grain quality programs.
Biological Materials Inventory and Tracking: The company's proprietary Pedigree and Inventory Management System, or PIMS, tracks the genetic, phenotypic, and location information for all its plant materials. The performance of the company's plant materials is recorded through a variety of laboratory and field observations, and the data are stored within PIMS. The location of all plant materials is tracked throughout the plant life cycle. This includes specific seeds planted within a specific plot of a specific field trial, harvest, seed storage location and use by, or distribution of plant material to, the company's collaborators or elsewhere.
Intellectual Property
As of December 31, 2023, the company owned or exclusively controlled 73 issued patents, 38 pending patent applications worldwide, and 6 plant variety protection certificates. These totals reflect the following: with respect to the U.S. territory, the company owned 24 and exclusively in-licensed 2 U.S. issued patents, and it owned 6 U.S. patent applications and 6 plant variety protection certificates relating to its plants, trait technologies, and business methods; and in connection with foreign territories, the company owned 29 and exclusively in-licensed 18 foreign issued patents, and owned 32 pending foreign patent applications. As of December 31, 2023, the company’s GoodWheat portfolio included 15 U.S. issued patents, 6 U.S. patent applications, 1 plant variety certificate, 27 foreign issued patents, and 26 foreign patent applications.
As of December 31, 2023, the company and Arcadia Wellness, LLC each had 12 registered trademarks in the United States. The company also had nine registered trademarks in various other countries.
Key Collaborations
Corteva Agriscience
In 2017, the company entered into a strategic collaboration with Corteva Agriscience to jointly develop and commercialize a breakthrough improved wheat quality trait in North America. The collaboration leverages the company's TILLING platform with Corteva Agriscience's enabling technology platforms, elite germplasm and global commercial channels.
Under the collaboration, the companies will further develop and commercialize an improved wheat quality trait, which has completed initial field trials and is advancing to next-stage field trials. Corteva Agriscience will introgress Arcadia's trait into its proprietary elite germplasm lines and manage all aspects related to the trait commercialization.
Arista Cereal Seeds Pty Ltd and Bay State Milling Company
In 2019, the company entered into an agreement with Arista Cereal Seeds Pty Ltd (Arista) and Bay State Milling Company (BSM). Under the agreement, BSM is the exclusive commercial partner for the company's high fiber resistant starch bread wheat in North America under its HealthSense brand portfolio, while Arista has exclusive rights under the company's fiber resistant starch bread wheat intellectual property in certain geographies, including Australia and Europe. The company will continue to market its fiber wheat under its GoodWheat portfolio of specialty wheat ingredients in other international markets.
Competition
Companies Selling Wheat Products: The company's competitors in the pasta market range from companies like Banza and Ancient Harvest who offer pasta alternatives to large, traditional pasta producers, including Barilla America, Inc. and F.lli De Cecco di Filippo Fara San Martino S.p.A. In pancakes, competitors include Kodiak Cakes, LLC, Birch Benders (Hometown Food Company), and Pearl Milling Company. Finally, in mac and cheese, the company faces competition from brands, such as Kraft, Annie’s, and Goodles.
Coconut Water: The company's competitors have similar distribution channels and retailers to deliver and sell their products. Competitors in this space include Vita Coco, ZICO, C20, and Harmless Harvest.
History
Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. was founded in 2002. The company was incorporated in 2002.
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