NFL Alumni Association and Oobli join forces to put sweet proteins in front of US families

Oobli has partnered with the National Football League Alumni Association to promote sweet proteins as a way for US consumers to reduce sugar without giving up sweetness.

The strategic partnership will combine Oobli's food technology with the NFL Alumni Association's national network of former players and community programs, with education initiatives planned at youth football camps, community events, Hall of Fame activities and NFL Alumni Super Week ahead of the 2027 Big Game in Los Angeles.

At the center of the collaboration is Oobli Inside, a new consumer-facing platform intended to identify foods and beverages containing the California company's sweet proteins.

• Oobli and the NFL Alumni Association have formed a strategic partnership focused on sugar reduction and healthier food choices.
• The collaboration will promote sweet proteins through youth football camps, community events and other NFL Alumni Association activities.
• Oobli Inside will identify participating food and beverage products made using the company's fermentation-produced sweet proteins.

Sweet proteins occur naturally in fruits and berries found in equatorial regions and provide an intensely sweet taste despite being proteins rather than carbohydrates. Oobli produces its versions using fermentation, with the ingredients designed to replace or reduce sugar in food and beverage formulations.

The company says the proteins are digested as proteins and can deliver sweetness with significantly less sugar and fewer calories, without artificial ingredients or a negative impact on blood sugar or gut health.

The partnership gives Oobli a consumer education platform as it looks to build awareness of a category that remains relatively unfamiliar outside the food technology sector.

"The National Football League Alumni Association is committed to helping people live healthier, more active lives," said Brad Edwards, Chief Executive Officer of the National Football League Alumni Association. "Oobli represents exactly the kind of innovation partner we want to introduce to our players, families, and fans."

The initiative is particularly focused on families seeking to reduce sugar consumption amid high rates of obesity, Type 2 diabetes and metabolic disease in the USA.

Rather than asking consumers to become familiar with individual sweet protein ingredients, Oobli Inside is designed to act as an identifier across products from food and beverage manufacturers, retailers, restaurants and consumer brands using the technology.

"The Oobli Inside initiative will give families another great way to enjoy the foods they already love while looking out for their health," Edwards said. "That's a mission our Alumni are proud to stand behind, and we believe this partnership could make a meaningful difference in the health of millions of Americans."

Oobli is developing sweet proteins as an alternative to both conventional sugar and high-intensity sweeteners. The approach is based on proteins found naturally in plants, with fermentation allowing them to be produced at the volumes required for commercial food manufacturing.

The technology is intended to address one of the persistent formulation challenges facing food manufacturers: cutting sugar while retaining the sweetness consumers expect.

For Oobli, the NFL Alumni Association partnership adds a consumer-facing element to that work. The organizations plan to use football-related events and community programs to explain what sweet proteins are and how they differ from existing approaches to reducing sugar.

Oobli Inside will also provide participating brands with a common identity for products incorporating the ingredients, potentially making sweet proteins more recognizable as they begin appearing in commercial foods and beverages.

"At Oobli, we believe people shouldn't have to choose between health and taste," said Ali Wing, Chief Executive Officer of Oobli. "Partnering with the National Football League Alumni Association lets us introduce Americans to the health benefits of sweet proteins through a trusted voice they know and respect."

The NFL Alumni Association was founded in 1967 and includes former NFL players, coaches, spouses, cheerleaders and associate members. Alongside supporting former members of the football community, it runs youth development, health, wellness and charitable programs across the USA.

Its activities include NFL Alumni Youth Football Camps, community outreach programs and NFL Alumni Super Week, giving the Oobli partnership a route into events involving players, families and fans.

Wing said the Oobli Inside platform was intended to help translate the company's ingredient technology into something consumers could recognize when choosing products.

"Oobli Inside will make it easier for consumers to recognize products made with our breakthrough ingredient and make healthier everyday choices for them and their families," she said.

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