Plasma Nutrition

What Plasma Nutrition does

Plasma Nutrition Inc. (DBA "io - Ingredient Optimized") is a New York-based private biotechnology company founded in 2015 that has developed a proprietary non-thermal atmospheric plasma processing technology. The technology structurally modifies proteins so that digestive enzymes interact with them more efficiently, yielding ingredients (ioWhey, ioPea, ioBCAA, ioCollagen, ioLeucine, and ioProtein Reduced Calorie) that the company reports as 3-5X more bioavailable than standard proteins, with specific clinical claims of 160% increased leucine, 218% increased isoleucine, and 344% increased valine bioavailability for its ioBCAA line. The platform is supported by 23 patentable features, 18 prototypes, and 10 completed or ongoing human clinical trials.

The company operates a pure B2B2C ingredient licensing model. It does not sell finished consumer products under its own brand at retail; instead it licenses the ioProtein ingredient portfolio to supplement, sports nutrition, and health-and-wellness brand partners (Kaged Muscle, Performix, MuscleTech, Enhanced Labs, Genepro, Melrose, Flow Supps, tropeaka, Evolution Botanicals, and others) who incorporate the technology into their own branded finished products. Those partner SKUs are distributed through major retail and e-commerce channels including Costco, Walmart, GNC, The Vitamin Shoppe, Amazon, and Bodybuilding.com, providing Plasma Nutrition with broad downstream reach without a direct-to-consumer sales infrastructure. Revenue is generated through licensing royalties or supply arrangements, with no public pricing or revenue figures disclosed. The firm is founder-owned (Chris Flynn-Rozanski, CEO; Steve Motosko, co-founder), reports 11-50 employees, and has raised disclosed rounds in 2016 and 2020 from SOSV/Food-X and a 2021 round from Continental Grain Company.

Name

Plasma Nutrition

Legal name

Plasma Nutrition Inc.

Website

https://becomeio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Protein Ingredients

NAICS

Dairy Product Manufacturing (3115), Dry, Condensed, and Evaporated Dairy Product Manufacturing (311514)

SIC

Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)

akta.pro primary industry

Proteins & Functional Nutrition Ingredients (Plant/Animal Proteins, Collagen, Amino Acids) (CRADAOAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Plant-Based Protein Ingredient Producers (Isolates, Concentrates, Texturates) (AFANAKAB), Animal-Derived Protein Ingredients (Egg, Collagen/Gelatin, Blood/Plasma Proteins) (AFAJAHAB), Sports & Performance Nutrition Foods Manufacturing (Protein Foods, Energy Gels/Bars) (AFAKAJAE)

Keywords

• Protein ingredient technology
• Ingredient licensing
• Protein bioavailability
• Sports nutrition ingredients
• Atmospheric plasma processing

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Ingredient Licensing: Plasma Nutrition licenses its Ingredient Optimized (ioProtein) technology portfolio to B2B partners including supplement and nutrition brands. Partners incorporate ioWhey, ioPea, ioBCAA, ioCollagen, and ioLeucine into their branded products for a licensing fee or supply arrangement.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Plasma Nutrition develops and licenses proprietary non-thermal atmospheric plasma-processed protein ingredients under the io (Ingredient Optimized) brand, including ioWhey, ioPea, ioBCAA, ioCollagen, ioLeucine, and ioProtein Reduced Calorie. The technology structurally enhances proteins to deliver 3-5X greater bioavailability than standard isolates. Ingredients are sold via B2B licensing to supplement, sports nutrition, and food brands (Kaged Muscle, MuscleTech, Performix, Enhanced Labs, etc.) for incorporation into their finished consumer products distributed through Costco, Walmart, GNC, The Vitamin Shoppe, Amazon, and Bodybuilding.com.

Product overview

Plasma Nutrition operates as a biotechnology company focused on improving protein and nutrition quality through its Ingredient Optimized technology platform. The company's portfolio consists of io-branded ingredient products including ioWhey (whey protein), ioPea (plant-based pea protein), ioBCAA (branched-chain amino acids), ioCollagen, ioLeucine, and ioProtein Reduced Calorie. All products utilize non-thermal atmospheric plasma technology that alters protein structure to enhance bioavailability by 3-5X compared to unaltered proteins. The company licenses its technology to brand partners for use in consumer protein powders, drinks, capsules, and food applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ioWhey: Ingredient Optimized whey protein isolate with superior absorption (3-5X more bioavailable)
• ioPea
• ioBCAA
• ioCollagen
• ioLeucine
• ioProtein - Reduced Calorie

Quantifiable outcome

• 3-5X greater bioavailability compared to unaltered proteins
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Kaged MusclecoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerFlagship partner incorporating ioWhey and ioPea into Kaged Muscle branded products including Clean Meal and Plantein protein powders. Kaged Muscle is a prominent sports nutrition brand with broad retail distribution.
• PerformixcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerIncorporates ioWhey and ioPlant (ioPea) into Performix branded products distributed through major retail channels.
• MuscleTechcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerMajor sports nutrition brand partner using ioProtein ingredients in MuscleTech product lines.
• Enhanced LabscoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerIncorporates ioProtein into ioClear Whey, ioPremium Whey, and other Enhanced Labs products. Products distributed through Amazon and brand website.
• GeneprocoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerIncorporates ioPea, ioCollagen, and other ioProtein ingredients into Genepro branded plant-based and collagen supplement products.
• MelroseminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerAustralian health and wellness brand incorporating ioProtein into Ignite by Melrose keto protein products.
• Flow SuppsminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerIncorporates ioProtein into Flow Clear Protein products distributed through Australian and international markets.
• myBrainCominorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerIncorporates ioProtein into MCT Protein products targeting cognitive performance and energy markets.
• tropeakaminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerAustralian health brand incorporating ioCollagen into protein-collagen blend products.
• Evolution BotanicalsminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerAustralian brand incorporating ioProtein into EVO Protein Forever Sustain Blend products.
• P3 (Purity Plant Protein)minorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerAustralian plant protein brand incorporating ioProtein into Protein Performance Superblend products.
• GlycosaminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerBrand partner incorporating ioProtein into Glycosa supplement products.
• ProteanminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerAustralian sports nutrition brand partner using ioProtein ingredients.
• Human ImprovementminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerBrand partner incorporating ioProtein into supplement product lines.
• KetoMEDminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerIncorporates ioProtein into KetoMED single-ship supplement products targeting ketogenic diet consumers.
• SD (Superdust)minorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerAustralian brand incorporating ioProtein into Protein Superblend products.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Glanbia Nutritionals: Major whey protein and plant protein ingredient supplier serving sports nutrition and food brands globally. Comparable because both operate B2B ingredient platforms powering finished protein products.
• Arla Foods Ingredients: Specialty whey protein ingredient supplier with proprietary processing technologies and clinical evidence backing performance claims. Directly comparable to Plasma Nutrition's whey-focused B2B ingredients portfolio.
• Hilmar Ingredients: Whey protein and milk protein isolate supplier serving nutrition and food manufacturers. Comparable B2B ingredient model with emphasis on performance-grade dairy proteins.
• AIDP: Proprietary functional ingredient supplier including branded proteins and collagen sold to supplement brands. Closely analogous ingredient-licensing business model.
• TSI Group: Ingredient supplier offering branded proteins, BCAAs, and amino acids to supplement brands. Comparable ingredient portfolio and B2B licensing approach.

Broad incumbents

• Roquette: Global starch and plant-protein ingredient supplier including pea protein under the NUTRALYS brand. Overlaps with ioPea as a competing plant-based protein ingredient.
• Kerry Group: Large-scale taste and nutrition ingredients platform serving food, beverage, and supplement manufacturers. Competes in protein ingredients at a much larger scale.
• Cargill: Global agribusiness with a sizable protein ingredients portfolio including plant and animal proteins for nutrition applications. Competes in the same B2B ingredient space at vastly greater scale.

Emerging players

• MycoTechnology: Fermentation-based food ingredient technology company licensing novel proteins and taste-masking ingredients to CPG brands. Comparable as a science-led B2B ingredient platform.
• Nuritas: AI-driven peptide discovery platform producing bioactive protein ingredients for CPG brands. Comparable as an emerging science-led B2B protein ingredient company.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/becomeio
• Facebookfacebook.com/becomeio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/becomeio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Plasma Nutrition