Melt&Marble names ex-Mycorena developer Paulo Teixeira as Product Manager and Tue Hodal as first CTO to lead scaleup strategy

Melt&Marble, the precision fermentation company developing designer fats for food and personal care, has appointed industrial biotech veteran Tue Hodal as its first-ever Chief Technology Officer. The company has also hired former Mycorena Chief Innovation Officer Dr Paulo Teixeira as Product Manager (main picture), bolstering its technical and product development leadership as it prepares for commercial-scale manufacturing.

Hodal brings more than 25 years of experience in industrial biotech and manufacturing to the role, including leadership positions at Chr. Hansen, Novo Nordisk, and Lundbeck. Most recently, he served as CTO at Bacthera, a developer of bacterial biotherapeutics. At Melt&Marble, Hodal will focus on optimizing bioprocesses and downstream operations to enable cost-effective, large-scale production of the company’s designer fats.

“Melt&Marble has a proven technology that will be key to creating the next generation of alternative food and cosmetics products,” Hodal said. “Reducing the carbon footprint of our food systems is an urgent priority and innovative solutions like Melt&Marble’s will be at the centre of that effort. The scalability of the technology has already been demonstrated and I look forward to working with the team to expand our operations.”

Joining him is Paulo Teixeira, PhD, who previously led the development of Mycorena’s mycoprotein ingredient. With a background in both technical R&D and go-to-market execution, Teixeira will help shape Melt&Marble’s product vision and roadmap as it expands into new applications. He holds a PhD in Bioengineering from Chalmers University of Technology.

“Sustainability is my top priority,” said Teixeira. “Melt&Marble has the world-class technology and expertise needed to overcome the taste and mouthfeel challenges in the alternative meat sector – key hurdles that must be addressed if we are to shift away from animal products.”

In 2024, Melt&Marble successfully scaled its production process to tens of thousands of liters and is targeting tonne-scale batches in 2025. The company also secured €2.76 million (approx. US$3 million) in EU grant funding and announced a partnership with Finnish dairy company Valio to co-develop next-generation plant-based products.

“Both of our new hires will play central roles in the future success of Melt&Marble,” said CEO & Co-founder Anastasia Krivoruchko. “We knew we needed a CTO with significant technical and operational expertise – someone who understands the unique challenges of scaling a startup to full commercial production. With experience spanning both large corporations and high-growth startups, Tue brings exactly the skill set we need. At the same time, Paulo brings valuable experience in translating unmet market needs into innovative products that offer consumers a sustainable alternative to animal-based and existing plant-based options.”

Melt&Marble uses precision fermentation to reprogram yeast metabolism and produce fats with tailored composition and functionality, aimed at improving texture, flavor, and sustainability across food and personal care products.