Alpine Bio selected for Mondelēz CoLab Tech 2026 to advance high-protein snack development

Alpine Bio has been selected to participate in Mondelēz International's CoLab Tech 2026 accelerator, giving the food technology company an opportunity to demonstrate its Fractionated Soy Protein Isolate (FSPI) platform to one of the world's largest snack manufacturers.

• Alpine Bio was selected for Mondelēz International's CoLab Tech 2026 accelerator, an eight-week program focused on technologies shaping the future of snacking.
• The company highlighted its Fractionated Soy Protein Isolate as a solution for high-protein bakery and snack applications where traditional protein ingredients can present formulation challenges.
• Alpine Bio said its technology offered an alternative to whey protein ingredients amid ongoing supply chain pressures and rising prices.

The CoLab Tech program, run by Mondelēz Research & Development, was designed to identify emerging technologies that could help address environmental, supply chain and regulatory challenges facing the food industry. This year's initiative also focused on technologies capable of accelerating innovation and improving consumer experiences.

Alpine Bio confirmed that its FSPI ingredient would be evaluated through the accelerator over the coming eight weeks, providing the company with access to teams developing future snack products.

Announcing the selection, Alpine Bio said its technology had been developed to address several of the challenges currently facing protein-enriched food products.

"FSPI is built to meet these challenges. It performs across formats, including the baked goods and snacks that punish protein most, and it sits outside a whey supply chain where prices have more than tripled since mid 2023," the company stated.

The announcement comes as consumer demand for higher-protein foods continues to expand beyond traditional sports nutrition products and into mainstream categories including snacks, baked goods, confectionery and convenience foods. Manufacturers have increasingly sought ingredients that can deliver elevated protein levels without negatively affecting taste, texture or product stability.

In a LinkedIn post, Alpine Bio founder and CEO Magi Richani outlined several of the functional attributes the company believes distinguish FSPI from conventional protein ingredients.

"Proteinifying the baking and snacking world demands a protein that actually performs," Richani wrote.

He highlighted what he described as "incredible solubility," which he said eliminated grittiness, alongside a neutral taste profile and functionality designed to behave similarly to dairy-derived proteins.

"Unlike most plant proteins, it disappears into the product," Richani said.

The company also emphasized the potential supply chain advantages of plant-based protein ingredients at a time when whey protein markets have experienced significant volatility.

"The protein boom isn't slowing down, but the whey supply chain can't keep up," Richani said. "FSPI gives the world's biggest snack makers a way to deliver the protein consumers want: reliably, sustainably, and deliciously."

Whey protein has become one of the most widely used ingredients in protein-enriched foods and beverages, but growing demand has placed pressure on supply availability and pricing in recent years. Alpine Bio has presented FSPI as an alternative that can offer comparable functionality while reducing dependence on dairy-based protein sources.

The accelerator selection also represents an opportunity for Alpine Bio to engage directly with Mondelēz teams responsible for developing future products across the company's global snack portfolio.

"Our Fractionated Soy Protein Isolate (FSPI) is built to meet these challenges," Alpine Bio said in its announcement. "Over the next eight weeks, we get to put FSPI in front of the people building what comes next in snacking."

Richani also thanked Sonia J. Miguel for supporting the company's participation in the program.

"A special thank you to Sonia J. Miguel for championing our work internally," he said. "We couldn't be more excited about the opportunities ahead and look forward to building on this momentum together."

The CoLab Tech accelerator has become one of Mondelēz's mechanisms for identifying and evaluating emerging technologies that could contribute to future product development, ingredient innovation and manufacturing capabilities. For participating companies, the program offers direct access to one of the world's largest snack food businesses and an opportunity to validate technologies in a commercial innovation environment.

For Alpine Bio, the selection provides a platform to demonstrate how its soy protein technology could support the next generation of protein-enriched snacks and baked goods as manufacturers seek solutions that balance functionality, consumer appeal and supply chain resilience.