New School Foods, a Toronto-based food manufacturing and technology company for plant-based proteins, is announcing the formation of NS/TX Industries Inc., an expanded company that will house the proprietary manufacturing technology platform, the New School Foods consumer brand and manufacturing operations.

NS/TX’s patented scaffolding process is the first to use directional freezing at scale, which creates hyper-realistic whole-cut alternatives that combine both muscle fibers and connective tissue into a single macrostructure. The same technology and assembly line that the company pioneered to produce its alt-seafood products has now been shown to also work for red meat applications, including steak and bone-in ribs. Unlike the industry-standard manufacturing process of extrusion, which has proven to be limited in its ability to create alt-protein products that meet consumer expectations, the NS/TX process delivers products with an authentic look, cook, taste and texture.

In order to support a wide range of different plant-based meat and seafood products, the NS/TX patented scaffolding platform has been designed to support maximum flexibility. The scaffold macrostructure can be made into any shape and size. Scaffolds can be embedded with plant-based “bones” to emulate steak and ribs. Texture can be modified by tuning muscle fiber diameter, length and resistance to match any meat type. Texture, flavor and appearance can be modified by customizing the pattern and composition of the connective tissue. Multilayered scaffolds can be infused with nearly any protein, liquid oil, flavor and colors.

NS/TX is designed to support a broader mission and more powerful manufacturing capabilities. It will serve as the overarching entity for three business units:

• New School Foods: The consumer and restaurant-facing product brand, including the flagship whole-cut, plant-based salmon filet, its recently launched plant-based salmon burger and new meat products in the near future.
• NS/TX R&D: A scientific and culinary innovation team that collaborates with other companies to develop custom formulations and products using NS/TX’s proprietary tech.
• NS/TX Manufacturing: To be rolled out over time, NS/TX Manufacturing will open the company's manufacturing technology to the world, working with other food brands to build and scale their own (private/white label) and co-branded offerings using NS/TX’s patented platform.

“Our scaffolding technology has proven to be more flexible than we imagined, and shown that it can be a superior manufacturing alternative to extrusion for red meat as well as seafood applications,” said Chris Bryson, New School Foods founder and CEO. “We have spent the last year scaling up our manufacturing process into an assembly line that can create all of these products, and we decided that we don’t want to reserve this technology for a single brand. The creation of NS/TX allows us to partner with other brands to develop and manufacture the next generation of alternative protein products.”

The NS/TX cold-based directional freezing process results in a product that starts out “raw” and transforms when cooked, just like ordinary meat - an experience that is not possible using conventional technologies like extrusion. In scaling up the process over the last year, the company also recognized that, just like the traditional meat industry, the excess material from shaping its whole cuts provide excellent additional products, including ground or flaked meats and fish, expanding efficiency and minimizing material loss.

With the launch of NS/TX, the company is formalizing what has already been happening behind the scenes: transforming a production innovation into a market-defining manufacturing and product development platform. The structure enables NS/TX to act as an innovative partner and catalyst, rather than just a producer, for others in the food space seeking to experiment, expand, or scale without having to build from scratch.

This announcement follows a string of major milestones for the company, including the launch of its flagship salmon filet in more than 30 restaurants across Canada, partnerships with Bondi Produce and Gordon Food Service (GFS), and the completion of its vertically integrated V1 production line. With over $19 million USD in funding from investors and partners, including Inter IKEA, Protein Industries Canada, and SDTC, NS/TX is establishing itself as a leader in manufacturing innovation, with the technical and operational capabilities to match.

Source: New School Foods