A better food system from plant to plate means empowering breeders, farmers, ingredient and food manufacturers, retailers and consumers to ensure better food by intent, design and access.
Breeders & Seed Producers
Farmer
Logistics/
Consolidate
Processor/
Wholesale Supplier
Food/Beverage Company
Food Service/
Retail
Consumer
Learn how we're working to contribute to a more nutritious and sustainable food system.
Take a tour of the Benson Hill facilities to see where our technology takes shape.
Made from 100% domestically-grown Benson Hill Ultra-High Protein soybean varieties, our high protein soy ingredients provide food manufacturers with novel sustainability benefits.
The portfolio includes soy flour for established food markets such as snacks, baked goods and meat extensions, and a functional alternative to traditional soy protein concentrate (SPC) for plant-based protein alternatives to meat, dairy, and other emerging categories.
Our high protein soy ingredients are more sustainably produced than traditional SPC, which uses up to 70% more water and has 50% more C02e while providing manufacturers great taste, quality and functionality.
ADM and Benson Hill are partnering to scale innovative Ultra-High Protein soy for North American food ingredient markets. Learn more >
Inspiring Science
CLOUD BIOLOGY® PROVIDES GREATER ACCURACY AND ACCESSIBILITY.
The same data science foundation that is changing other areas of our lives is influencing the innovation of plant science through Cloud Biology® and CropOS®.
Cloud Biology® is the culmination of data, machine learning and AI techniques with biology. CropOS® is our proprietary platform designed to facilitate the accessibility and actionability of Cloud Biology®. It accelerates breeding by enabling greater precision and fewer breeding cycles. It is like GPS for plant scientists and breeders. It takes the guess work out; getting to desired outcomes faster and more efficiently.
Learn more about CropOS®, our cutting-edge food innovation engine.
CropOS® enables proprietary phenotyping, predictive breeding and environmental modeling algorithms.
Historically, breeding has been a blend of science and chance – a lengthy, expensive process where outcomes often come with tradeoffs. As one plant characteristic such as yield is optimized, another such as protein content is compromised. CropOS® changes this by enabling greater control and precision.
This means reduced costs and greater accessibility. With CropOS®, we can produce plants that are highly productive, highly nutritious and better tasting. We can improve sustainability by breeding plants capable of doing more, with less. We are able to better influence characteristics such as taste and texture while also reducing processing steps and the need for additives. Products bred from the beginning to have fewer trade-offs and reach the market faster.
We’re already doing this with ultra-high protein (UHP) soybeans and products with low anti-nutrient content which enables better nutrition and more sustainable management for fish, poultry and swine farming. We’re producing high oleic soybeans which means you can enjoy those fries in a healthier way. All of this is moving promise to progress.
Real Results
Our CropOS® technology platform combines data analytics and artificial intelligence with food science and plant biology to leverage the vast, untapped natural genetic diversity within plants to optimize nutrition, flavor profiles and yield.
Our Ingredients and Fresh business segments combine the power of our CropOS® technology platform with infrastructure capabilities to scale our offerings and better serve our customers. Bringing together our seed innovation with closed-loop supply chains and best practices in the field enables greater sustainability for ingredient and food companies and retailers, end-to-end traceability for consumers and greater profitability for farmers.
Benson Hill Ingredients is focused on the production and sale of quality ingredients for food, feed and cooking oils made better through seed innovation, unlocking the natural diversity of plants to enhance protein, value-added oils, and more.
By increasing nutrition, taste, and sustainability from seed through ingredient production, we offer manufacturers functional ingredients across a broad array of food applications. This helps better meet consumer demands and deliver on sustainability objectives for consumer products.
Our initial focus has been soybean and yellow pea innovation. Both crops are key protein sources for the growing and underserved plant protein market. Benson Hill commercialized Ultra-High Protein soybean varieties in 2020 and has now launched TruVail™ – a portfolio of high protein soy-based ingredients.
Our ingredients portfolio provides greater sustainability from seed to fork. Benson Hill emphasizes regenerative Ag practices with our farmer partners and because our products are higher in protein content from the beginning, they are a functional alternative to soy protein concentrate (SPC). The production of traditional SPC uses 70% more water and creates 50% more CO2e. Closed-loop seed innovation, crop production and ingredient processing help manufacturers with consumer demands for less processing and traceability while fitting well with cleaner label programs.
In addition to food applications, Benson Hill serves the aquaculture market through collaborations such as the one announced with Riverence. Feed made with Benson Hill soybean varieties delivers high protein and low antinutrient content such as oligosaccharides which can aid in fish digestion and water management practices. In addition, because Benson Hill soybeans are domestically-sourced, the risk of deforestation to produce our beans is low.
The launch of our ingredients business segment coupled with the commercialization of our Ultra-High Protein soybean varieties and the launch of our TruVail ingredients portfolio is testament to the role technology and supply chain integration can create – food made from better.
Soybean
We’re commercializing Ultra High Protein soybean varieties (UHP) capable of reducing processing steps and natural resource use in the production of soy-based ingredients. Other soybean varieties we are bringing to market are low in antinutrients, enabling more sustainable livestock and aquaculture farming, while others enable the production of healthier cooking oils, including our own HOLL cooking oil, by using soybeans with high oleic content.
Yellow pea
To enable us to better serve the pet and human food plant-based markets, we’ve expanded and upgraded Dakota Ingredients, an upper Midwest-based yellow pea processor that is part of our Ingredients business segment.
Dakota Ingredients offers an elite grower program and closed-loop production capabilities that can now test premium yellow pea varieties and supply ingredients that are traceable and meet food-grade, kosher and non-GMO certification standards.
We’re currently engaged with pet and human food ingredient customers interested in the next generation of yellow pea protein ingredients and working to establish sustainability best practices across our supply chain.
Athletes, active people and consumers who want plant-based options are interested in high-quality protein food choices sourced from simple plant-based ingredients.
LESLIE BONCI
Sports Dietitian to the Kansas City Chiefs and the XFL
NUTRITION & HEALTH
There’s a long road ahead. On average, Americans spend $1.7 trillion a year on food and almost $2 trillion per year on illnesses related to diet and nutrition such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
More than 65% of American adults are either overweight or have obesity and, according to the CDC, a vast number of Americans do not eat enough vegetables and fruits.
Creating better tasting, more nutritious options for both food and feed will play an important role in reversing these damaging trends. Food is health and the work we do will contribute to a healthier people and planet.
BIODIVERSITY & SUSTAINABILITY
The Global Seed Bank, located near the North Pole, is home to over a million different varieties of seeds from the entire world. Its aim is to conserve crop diversity for the future so that scientists can innovate more nutritious and climate-resistant crops.
Yet currently, almost 100% of the calories in our food come from 1% of plants’ genetic diversity. Imagine the possibilities to feed and nourish the world if we unlocked more of that potential.
70% of our global fresh water supply is used for agriculture. Imagine the many other uses and the benefits for the planet if plants were bred to do more with less.
Where we can harness the plant’s ability to do just that, we can reduce not just the environmental impacts of our food but positively impact the economics as well.
MOVING FROM PROMISE TO PROGRESS ON BOTH FRONTS:
And, through all of this we’re looking to make food better tasting too. There’s no sense in creating products that are sustainable and healthier if they’re not desirable. Imagine a plant-based burger you can’t wait to bite into as it sizzles on the grill or fries you savor without guilt or reservation.
This can’t just be about creation of options. It must be about the creation of cravings. We have to want to eat better, or we won’t.
Bold Leaders
Deanie Elsner
Dean Freeman
Jason Bull
Bruce Bennett
Yevgeny Fundler
Deanie Elsner
Interim CEO/Director
DeAnn Brunts
Director
J. Stephan Dolezalek
Dan Jacobi
David J. Lee
Richard L. Mack
Molly Montgomery
Craig Rohr
Linda Whitley-Taylor
Julia Bailey-Serres
Ph.D., Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, Center for Plant Cell Biology
Chase Beisel
Gary Fogel
Jon Lightner
Mark Matlock
Former Senior Vice President of Research, Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM)
Our Core Values Guide Us
Everyone on the Benson Hill team shares a set of common principles fundamental to our identity. Our team is seriously real and authentic. We are bold yet humble. We believe that shaping the future of food requires deliberate purpose and more than just ourselves. We are inspired and energized by an emerging community of innovators across the value chain. If these values speak to you, come join us and apply cutting-edge data and biological sciences to one the most fundamental needs of our time – and have a lot of fun doing it!
– Matt Crisp
Co-Founder
Be Bold!
We redefine boundaries by providing new solutions to difficult problems. Together we are driven to transform the future and will not allow the fear of failure to prevent us from innovating. We voice our opinions, embrace change, and challenge each other to think creatively.
Be Inspired!
We have purpose in our work-we are curious, engaged, and have fun. We maintain an active learning mindset and are motivated by diverse people and thoughts. We are energized by all innovators and together we aim to make an impact and contribute to building a better world.
Be Real!
We understand who we are, what we want to achieve, and what it takes to get there. We hold each other accountable through timely, candid, and well-intentioned feedback. Together we engage in honest communication and healthy debate that leads to success through true alignment.
