Agricultural technology company Arcadia Biosciences has announced the official launch of its GoodWheat consumer brand, a non-transgenic (non-GM) platform that it believes enables food manufacturers to differentiate their consumer-facing brands. The brand launch is said to be a key element of the company’s go-to-market strategy to achieve greater value for its innovations by participating in downstream consumer revenue opportunities.

Arcadia says it designed the brand to make an immediate connection with consumers that products made with GoodWheat meet their demands for healthier wheat options that taste great. The GoodWheat brand encompasses Arcadia’s current and future non-GM wheat portfolio of high fibre Resistant Starch (RS) and Reduced Gluten wheat varieties, as well as future wheat innovations. In addition to the recently announced technology milestones in its RS wheat program and its commercial launch, Arcadia says it has made significant progress in its Reduced Gluten wheat program and remains on track for its commercial launch.“Our GoodWheat brand is directly aligned with our strategic direction to deliver differentiating value to food manufacturers and consumers who want healthier products that taste great,” said Raj Ketkar, Arcadia’s president and CEO. “The launch of the GoodWheat brand follows a decade of research in wheat quality traits and is the direct result of the product strategy implemented last year.”To capitalize on these opportunities, the company is building out its commercial team, including the retention of Ian Miller, an expert branded ingredient strategist who was the architect of the NutraSweet brand along with hundreds of other well-known consumer brands.“The chance to make a positive healthy impact with an ingredient as ubiquitous as wheat doesn’t come around very often,” Miller said. “With GoodWheat, Arcadia has an incredible opportunity to meet mainstream consumer demand and create measurable value for consumer food and beverage brands.”Arcadia recently announced it has developed wheat varieties that contain up to 94%t amylose, compared to 25 to 30% amylose in traditional wheat. Increased levels of amylose correspond to higher levels of resistant starch which has been proven to deliver significant health benefits, according to the company. These same wheat varieties also deliver levels of total dietary fibre high enough to meet the US Food and Drug Administration’s threshold for a “Good Source” of fibre or “High in Fibre” designation on consumer packaging. Since Resistant Starch GoodWheat is naturally high in fibre, food companies can reduce the use of additional fibre sources in their formulations and simplify their ingredient labels. Arcadia says it is already working with a growing number of consumer packaged goods companies on new, healthier formulations of existing products using both refined and whole wheat Resistant Starch flour.To meet demand for functional wheat ingredients, the company is also developing Reduced Gluten, and other soon-to-be announced improved wheat varieties that would be sold under the GoodWheat brand.