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Spotted: Globally, the non-alcoholic beer market is projected to be worth $36.75 billion (around €34.39) as of this year, with an expected compound annual growth rate of over 12 per cent. Though the industry is booming, one common complaint is the taste.

When alcohol is removed from beer – often through heating – it kills the natural aroma that comes from hops. But now, startup EvodiaBio has found a way to produce non-alcoholic beer that tastes as good as its boozy counterpart.

The company has created a group of small molecules called monoterpenoids taken from yeast which can be added to non-alcoholic beer at the end of the brewing process to mimic the appropriate aroma profiles and give the product back its hoppy flavour. With this precision fermentation process, EvodiaBio created its proprietary aroma for non-alcoholic beer, Yops.

Unlike other cultivated aroma hops, Yops is also sustainable. The company claims that its state-of-the-art solution reduces CO2 emissions by over 100 times. Because Yops does not require actual hops for its taste, this reduces the water needed to grow the crop, as well as transportation required to get it from farm to brewery.

Though the startup is currently focusing on beer, its technology can be used more broadly, and hopes to revolutionise “a wide range of industries category by category”.

The startup recently secured $6.4 million (approximately €6 million) in a funding round led by Nordic Foodtech VC and plans to formally launch Yops this year.

The food industry is constantly innovating and Springwise has spotted other ways it is improving sustainability, including using beer yeast to manufacture greener proteins, and creating cow-free dairy products.

Written By: Matilda Cox