Amyris to Acquire Oobli, Adding Precision-Fermented Sweet Proteins Brazzein, Monellin and Thaumatin to Its Biomanufacturing Platform

Biomanufacturing company Amyris has agreed to acquire Oobli, the California sweet protein developer whose fermentation-made brazzein, monellin and thaumatin are being used by food and beverage brands to cut sugar. The deal, announced on 12 November 2026, pairs Oobli’s protein production platform and sweet protein portfolio with Amyris’ strain engineering and scale-up capabilities. Terms were not disclosed, and the companies expect the transaction to close in the coming weeks.

It is the latest consolidation move in alternative proteins and precision fermentation, bringing a sweet protein platform that already holds US regulatory clearances and has commercial customers into an industrial biomanufacturer.

What Amyris is buying

Oobli recreates proteins found in equatorial fruits and berries that taste sweet but are digested as protein. Instead of extracting them from scarce plant material, it inserts the relevant DNA sequences into the yeast Komagataella phaffii, ferments the microbes and then filters and purifies the target proteins, according to Green Queen.

• Brazzein (marketed as Oubli Fruit Sweet Protein) and monellin (Serendipity Berry Sweet Protein): FDA GRAS as sweeteners and FEMA GRAS-affirmed as natural flavours.
• Thaumatin (Katemfe Fruit Sweet Protein): FEMA GRAS-affirmed; Amyris CEO Kathy Fortmann told AgFunderNews an FDA “no questions” letter is expected soon.
• Miraculin, the taste-modifying protein from miracle fruit, is also part of the portfolio, Green Queen reports.

The company was founded in 2014 as Miraculex, later became Joywell Foods and rebranded as Oobli in December 2022. Green Queen reports it has raised nearly $50 million and works with manufacturers including Ingredion, Grupo Bimbo and Cosun Ingredients. Food Tech Insider covered its sweet protein and chicory fibre system for zero-sugar chocolate with Cosun last month.

“Joining forces with Amyris gives us the scale and resources to realize our ambition of making sweet proteins the global standard in sweetness solutions,” said Oobli CEO Ali Wing.

A post-bankruptcy Amyris returns to sweetness

Amyris emerged from bankruptcy in May 2024 with a business-to-business model, having sold its consumer beauty brands. It now offers strain engineering, process development, manufacturing and technology licensing, while developing some ingredients in-house. Earlier this year it added a fourth production line, a 2 x 80m³ configuration, at its fermentation plant in Barra Bonita, Brazil, alongside existing 2 x 200m³ lines.

Fortmann told AgFunderNews that Amyris previously produced the stevia-derived sweetener Reb M by fermentation under an agreement with Ingredion, and that the company is “thrilled to have sweetness back in our portfolio.” She also pointed to Amyris’ interest in proteins for flavour and fragrance, personal care and agricultural peptides.

“In Oobli, we see a commercial and technology platform that is a great complement to our own,” Fortmann said in the announcement.

Supply continuity: no immediate move to Brazil

For food manufacturers already formulating with Oobli ingredients, the most important signals concern supply. Fortmann told Food Ingredients First that Amyris intends to keep Oobli’s current manufacturing partners and is committed to maintaining current pricing and lead times. She told AgFunderNews there are no immediate plans to bring sweet protein production in-house to Barra Bonita, and that production will stay with Oobli’s contract manufacturer as it scales.

Both companies say existing customer commitments and brand partnerships will be honoured without interruption. Amyris plans to keep prioritising sports and nutrition, beverages, dairy, confectionery and baked goods, the categories where Oobli has seen the most formulation interest.

Why it matters for sugar reduction

Sweet proteins are hundreds to thousands of times sweeter than sugar and bind directly to sweet taste receptors. Amyris says they deliver sweetness without gut disruption or blood sugar spikes because they are metabolised as protein, and Fortmann told AgFunderNews she was struck by how clean the taste was in Oobli’s reduced-sugar applications. Brazzein, for example, occurs in only tiny quantities in the oubli fruit, which is why fermentation is the only practical route to commercial volumes.

The main constraints have been cost, production scale and regulatory status. The acquisition addresses the scale question through access to Amyris’ strain engineering and process know-how, while keeping the existing contract manufacturing set-up in place for now. It also places a sweet protein portfolio with US GRAS status inside a company with two decades of experience taking fermentation-derived ingredients to industrial volumes.

The deal adds to a wave of consolidation in the sector: Green Queen counts more than 90 alternative protein companies that have been acquired, merged, become insolvent or closed since September 2024. For sweetener buyers, the question to watch is whether Amyris’ process improvements translate into lower cost-in-use for sweet proteins, which will determine how far they move beyond premium and better-for-you products.