FOUNDER OF THE MONTH
MATTHEW AMICUCCI
BCD BIOSCIENCE
BY Russell Nichols
Breast milk contains prebiotics , essential carbohydrates that nourish healthy bacteria for optimal infant gut health . BCD Bioscience , a startup that emerged from UC Davis , wants to expand the market of prebiotics to adults through a unique formula that creates carbohydrates with similar benefits from plant-based food sources .
“ Instead of looking at milk for adult nutrition , we should be looking at other food and agriculture sources ,” says Matt Amicucci , cofounder and principal scientist of BCD Bioscience , who was a chef for about 10 years . “ By providing certain beneficial carbohydrates , we can enhance microbes in the gut and lower the impetus for certain diseases .”
Most of the carbohydrates involved in prebiotics are nondigestible fiber , which can provide digestive health benefits and reduce the risk for heart diseases , stroke , obesity , certain cancers and other ailments . But studies show that 95 percent of American adults and children don ’ t consume recommended amounts of fiber . Amicucci wants to change that by treating certain carbohydrates with the startup ’ s proprietary process to deliver more powerful prebiotics to the beneficial microbes in the gut . The startup launched in 2019 and has a team of 11 , including chemists , engineers , food scientists and microbiologists . This fall , BCD Bioscience aims to raise $ 15 million to $ 20 million in a series A round .
PHOTO BY TERENCE DUFFY
My backup name for the startup was ............................. Butternut Bio . run an If I could have any other job , I ’ d ..................................
agritourism bed and breakfast . ...............................................................................
The movie that best represents my approach to business would be ................................................. the original “ Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory .” ( He was a ........................................................................... true innovator .) ...........................................................................
would be boring if fate always I believe life ........................................................... had its way . ..............................................................................
My biggest fear about launching was ................................ whether the
........................................................................................... industry would understand our vision .
WHAT WILL YOU USE TO CREATE THE PREBIOTICS ? “ The starting material to create our prebiotics comes from agricultural waste streams . We turn them into something valuable : corn husks , leftover coffee grounds , citrus peels , spent brewers ’ grains . There ’ s a really green aspect to what we do .”
IS THIS A COMPETITIVE MARKET ? “ Gut health is a rapidly growing field . There is already a huge consortia of companies trying to treat diseases by applying live microbes . We believe that we just need to put the right food there , and the right microbes will flourish .”
For more on BCD Bioscience , read Russell Nichols ’ Startup of the Month column at comstocksmag . com .
106 comstocksmag . com | July 2021