Motif FoodWorks Appoints Vice President of Food Design

BOSTON, Jan. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Motif FoodWorks, the Boston-based food technology company making plant-based foods better tasting and more nutritious, today announced César Vega has joined the company as Vice President of Food Design.

In the newly created role, Vega will lead Motif's food applications, culinary design, sensory, and packaging teams. It's a unique role and approach for Motif, as the company's technology development work does not stop at discovery. As part of its holistic approach to food design, Motif employs a multidisciplinary team of scientists and innovators to better understand how its emerging technologies can make plant-based foods such as alternative meat and dairy, and plant-based sports nutrition products—truly craveable. This includes in-depth consumer centric design and sensory testing, as well as working with customers that use Motif's food technologies to optimize their plant-based products for taste, texture and nutrition.

Vega joins the company from Barry Callebaut, the world's leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, where he served as Director of R&D Innovation for the Americas. Prior to that, he held various leadership positions at Mars, Inc. across different geographies. Vega holds a culinary degree and is a globally recognized authority in the area of the science of cooking. He was an expert reviewer of Myrhvold's Modernist Cuisine, consultant for Jose Andres' ThinkFoodGroup, and co-editor of The Kitchen as Laboratory.

"I am excited to join Motif during a time of immense innovation," said César Vega. "I believe in 'falling in love with consumer problems,' and I'm excited to bring my experience in user-centric design to the company."

In addition to his longstanding career, Vega dedicates his time to educating others on the intersection between science, design, and the culinary arts. He has led lectures and seminar series at universities in Spain, Belgium, Canada, the U.S. and Chile. He also served on the advisory board at ERGO Biosciences SAS.

"It is a pleasure to welcome César to our team," said Michael Leonard, CTO of Motif FoodWorks. "When we created this role, we knew we needed an innovator with a strong background in R&D with the capability to understand the demands and challenges of pioneering the development of new products, partners, and category segments within the food industry. We are excited by what César brings to the table - both literally and figuratively."

Vega joins the team during a time of massive growth, most notably the company's historic $226 million in Series B funding. Over the past year, Motif has unveiled innovative plant-based technologies, including meltable cheese, as well the commercialization of their first technology, HEMAMI™, that improves the taste and aroma of plant-based meat. Motif announced in late 2021 their plans to open a new market development center. The company also undertook a series of academic research projects with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, University of Guelph, University of Queensland, King's College, Imperial College, and the University of Illinois, collaborating with leading food scientists and industry experts to uncover new insights and solutions to long-standing food challenges.

About Motif FoodWorks
Motif FoodWorks is a food technology company working to make plant-based foods better tasting, more nutritious and so desirable that people actually crave them. The company's mission is to unleash the promise of plant-based foods by taking a new, holistic approach to ingredient development that combines science and technology — merged with sensory fundamentals — to reveal totally new answers. By changing our understanding of plant-based food, Motif will enable crave-worthy products that exceed taste and experience expectations, unlocking benefits for people and our planet. For more information, visit www.madewithmotif.com.

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SOURCE Motif FoodWorks