Consumers are increasingly recognizing the impact of their food choices on personal, community and environmental health. AgriNovus Indiana released new research that shows high potential for innovation at the intersection of plants, animals, humans and the environment.
The nexus of these domains? Food: the only economy that touches every person on the planet and one that is ripe to advance food-focused research and commercialization to improve health outcomes. Many food companies are shifting ingredients and exploring new product-development approaches. Others are deepening relationships with farmers and investing in their transition to regenerative agricultural practices to reduce supply chain risks and meet sustainability commitments.
AgriNovus CEO, Mitch Frazier, says Indiana is uniquely positioned to lead in this space. “From global agbioscience leaders like Corteva Agriscience and Elanco Animal Health to human pharmaceutical juggernaut, Eli Lilly and Company, and healthcare giant Elevance Health, Indiana is home to major leaders across the full spectrum of plant, animal and human health. There is a massive opportunity for collective discovery and development of new technologies that drive both economic growth and health outcomes for everyone.”
The food is health opportunity encompasses three areas that align to create a food system focused on health. Starting with:
- The acceleration of food-focused research and commercialization at the intersection of plant, animal, human and environmental health. In May, Elanco and Purdue University announced the launch of a OneHealth Innovation District in downtown Indianapolis focused on becoming a globally recognized leader in this space. The shared-use facility, open in 2025, is designed to deliver and scale innovation where industry and academia can collaborate, including office, wet lab and incubator space. Frazier says the partnership shows the future is bright for this opportunity. “Uniting industry and academia to create a space where this economy can develop, grow and scale is massive validation of what’s to come.”
- Enabling farmers to diversify crop production and supply regional food economies. Indiana is well-positioned for growth if the state can translate the outputs of its sizable agricultural production platform into inputs for an expanded value-added food and nutrition platform. The state currently offers block grants for specialty crop expansion as well as grants to improve food supply resilience in the middle of the food chain; and
- Growing the value-added food and nutrition economy to address consumer food interests and improve human health outcomes. Indiana is home to and supports the expansion of food manufacturers such as Clif Bar, Kraft Heinz and Missions foods.
In September, Corteva announced a $25 million equity stake in Pairwise, a technology company focused on gene editing in food and agriculture, to accelerate new solutions for farmers that make produce more readily accessible and optimally nutritious for consumers.
These three areas expand well beyond what one organization can independently execute. Frazier says finding focus and combining efforts is step one. “The food is health opportunity spans the entire value chain. We must marshal resources and be very clear about how we can uniquely address this market and create impact.
While big companies like Elanco, Elevance Health and Corteva exist in the heart of Indianapolis, the food is health opportunity will require emerging companies to enter the market. Establishing place-based hubs like the OneHealth Innovation District will attract new innovators, changemakers and investment to this space.
AgriNovus is also creating new opportunities for startups in 2025 with the launch of Velocity, an agbioscience accelerator focused in three critical areas, food is health, bioinnovation and farmer-focused innovation. Guided by research and mentorship, participants ranging from students, startups and existing companies will create solutions to defined challenges.
Velocity culminates with a $25,000 prize for each track and an opportunity to move big ideas forward. The program kicks off in January and registration is now open.