Last fall, when Pairwise launched Conscious Greens in select markets, it was the first food in the US developed with CRISPR technology, which allowed it to change the underlying DNA of mustard leaves to preserve their nutrition and vibrant purple hue but remove the off-putting bitter flavor commonly associated with members of the brassica family.
The launch gave the company a chance to test its hypothesis that when consumers were presented with a product that offered them tangible benefits, and which tasted good and was convenient, they would accept the technology used to create it.
“We passed with flying colors and received really, really positive feedback from consumers,” CEO and co-founder Tom Adams told FoodNavigator-USA.
However, Adams said, the company also realized that it did not have the resources to effectively market the salad kits and continue developing gene-edited products.
“Every dollar we spend on marketing is a dollar we don’t spend on producing the next interesting product,” Adams said.
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This pivot will allow the company to “double down on our core competencies of the technology that we’re using to develop really unique products, like the salads,” including “game-changing product innovations,” such as seedless blackberries and pitless cherries made with CRISPR technology, Adams said.
