Synthetic biology specialist Bestzyme, a subsidiary of GenScript Biotech, has completed the construction and commissioning of a dedicated, automated smart production line for sweet proteins at its facility in Jinan, China.
The development represents the first full-chain commercial integration encompassing research and development, industrial mass production, and food formulation applications for sweet proteins. The facility addresses persistent technical hurdles within food and beverage manufacturing, where reducing sugar often leads to sensory compromises in flavour and mouthfeel.
Industrial Scale and Precision Biomanufacturing
Spanning 5,000 square metres, the Jinan facility features an end-to-end automated manufacturing flow integrating high-density precision fermentation, separation, purification, and freeze-drying operations.
Once fully operational, the plant will deliver an annual capacity of over 100 tonnes of the company's flagship Mellia® Brazzein sweet protein. Based on Brazzein sweetness equivalence ratios, 100 tonnes of the high-purity protein provides the sweetening potency of roughly 300,000 tonnes of standard sucrose. The company projects that the facility's production capacity has the potential to double within the next two years.
Brazzein is a protein originally identified in the West African Oubli fruit. It exhibits sweetness potency several thousand times higher than sucrose while contributing zero calories and virtually zero glycaemic impact.
Despite its potential in sugar reduction, the ingredient has historically faced commercialisation bottlenecks due to low host expression levels in microbial systems and technical complexities during downstream extraction and purification. Bestzyme leveraged more than a decade of industrial enzyme engineering and biocatalysis experience to resolve high-density fermentation parameters, making scaled production commercially feasible.
Formulation Synergy and Sensory Performance
Rather than serving as a direct standalone sugar substitute, Bestzyme has engineered Mellia® Brazzein to address taste and texture deficits common in zero-calorie sweeteners.
Traditional intense sweeteners, such as steviol glycosides and monk fruit extracts, often exhibit delayed sweetness onset, lingering bitterness, or astringent aftertastes. Bestzyme formulates Mellia® to function synergistically alongside these botanical extracts, rounding out the temporal sweetness profile to match the taste curve of sucrose without adding caloric or metabolic burdens.
"The real challenge in sugar reduction is not simply removing sugar, but replicating the pure, full-bodied, natural taste of sucrose while removing calories and metabolic burden," said Dr Bai Aixi, General Manager of Bestzyme.
"Mellia Brazzein sweet protein is not a simple replacement for traditional sweeteners, but rather the final piece of the puzzle in sweetener formulations. It can efficiently blend with existing sweeteners such as stevia and monk fruit to achieve complete, rounded sweetness."
Regulatory Clearance and Global Commercialisation
Bestzyme is initiating commercial expansion following key regulatory and market milestones in North America.
In April 2025, Mellia® secured a "No Questions Letter" from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), confirming its Generally Recognised as Safe (GRAS) status for designated food and beverage categories. The company is actively pursuing parallel regulatory approvals across additional international jurisdictions.
The ingredient has completed preliminary commercial proof-of-concept trials in the US market through a product partnership with an independent sparkling water brand, validating flavour performance in commercial carbonated beverages.
Industry data indicates that the global sweet protein sector expanded to tens of millions of dollars in valuation in 2025. By unifying proprietary strain engineering, owned manufacturing facilities, and application development under one corporate structure, Bestzyme aims to secure consistent ingredient purity, quality control, and supply-chain stability for multinational food and beverage manufacturers.
