Food tech company Eden Brew says the appointment of Dr Rob Brown as chief scientific officer was a strategic decision at a pivotal juncture of the company’s growth.
Brown will head the alternative protein and precision fermentation company’s R&D team in creating animal-free dairy.
Eden Brew was co-founded in 2021 by CSIRO, Norco Dairy Cooperative, and Main Sequence Ventures. Its goal to create animal free dairy products involves precision fermentation, which tells yeast to produce nature-identical dairy proteins. It was the first company to develop animal-free casein micelle, a necessary ingredient for animal-free milk to emulate the sensory and nutritional elements of cow’s milk.
Eden Brew co-founder and CEO, Jim Fader, said Brown’s extensive experience and wealth of knowledge would be instrumental as the company moves into the next vital phase of product development.
“We are at a pivotal moment in the evolution of our industry as we look toward bringing new and innovative products that consumers will love, to market,” Fader said.
In October, Eden Brew completed a successful $25 million Series A capital raise, which will allow for a pilot of commercial scale production and the launch of its ice cream product.
Brown will relocate to Australia, having spent 20 years working in commercial research in the US. Most recently he was the VP Research at Viridos (formerly Synthetic Genomics Inc.) and prior to that had tenure at Diversa Corp and Dow Chemicals. He is originally from the UK.
Brown led a multi-disciplinary team of scientists to develop renewable fuels, and said he has a passion for developing sustainable solutions to global challenges, leveraging the power of nature through cutting edge biotechnology.
Fader said Brown’s wealth of experience in synthetic biology, genomics and scientific leadership will be a welcome asset to Eden Brew in a time of critical growth.
“Rob’s appointment follows a strategic decision to enhance the company’s research capabilities at a pivotal juncture in its growth trajectory. Leveraging his industry experience, Eden Brew will be able to take advantage of his proficiency beyond just conventional biology to introduce new customer-centric innovations in this space,” Fader said.
Brown said, “I am excited to have the opportunity to lead Eden Brew’s Research and Development team, as we continue the mission to pioneer an entirely new and sustainable food category.
“After years of leading multi-disciplinary teams in the United States, I am invigorated to be taking the next step in my journey, joining the team in Australia and helping to bring innovative and sustainable products to market.”
Brown received his PhD in Bacterial Pathogenesis from the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research in the UK. He has more than 20 issued patents and additional pending applications in various areas of industrial biotechnology.
Fader said, “His remarkable track record and wealth of experience makes him the ideal leader to accelerate our research and development efforts. We are particularly pleased to be able to attract such experienced leadership in Industrial biotechnology out from the US to lead our efforts in Australia. It speaks volumes for the progress of the ecosystem in Australia and its potential.”
