Mattson
Mattson is an employee-owned, privately held food and beverage product innovation firm founded in 1977, providing custom end-to-end consulting — from insights and strategy through formulation and commercialization — to CPG companies, restaurant operators, ingredient suppliers, and food startups, augmented by proprietary AI tools including MattsonIQ.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1977
- HeadquartersFoster City, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Mattson does
Mattson (legal name Peter H. Mattson & Co., Inc.) is an employee-owned, privately held food and beverage product innovation firm founded in 1977 and headquartered in Foster City, California, with a second office in Chicago acquired in April 2024 through the purchase of Hyde Park Group Food Innovation. The firm operates as a B2B professional services provider delivering custom, end-to-end engagements — spanning insights, brand and product strategy, ideation and concept creation, product design and development, ingredient discovery and applications, co-pack search, and commercialization — to consumer packaged goods companies, restaurant and foodservice operators, ingredient suppliers, and food and beverage startups (including VC- and PE-backed ventures).
Underlying the service offering is a portfolio of proprietary methodologies (ProtoThink LTO, LTOiQ, Consumer Guidance Panels, Food Studio Ideations) and registered patents (e.g., a vacuum-roasted glazed walnut process for Diamond Foods, the Somersaults sunflower seed snack process for National Pretzel Holdings). Mattson's technology stack combines decades of consumer insight data with AI-enabled tools: MattsonIQ (a free generative-AI platform for food intelligence launched globally in May 2026 and developed over more than three years in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America), Chef Insights AI, and ProtoThink Foodservice AI (launched April 2025). Specialized pilot-plant equipment, including Microthermics units and twin-screw extrusion capabilities, supports in-house prototyping and scale-up.
Revenue is generated through custom, project-based consulting engagements rather than disclosed pricing tiers or subscription products; the free MattsonIQ platform functions as a top-of-funnel credibility and lead-generation layer rather than a monetized product. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales with thought-leadership-driven inbound (Forbes contributions by Chief New Product Strategy Officer Barb Stuckey, Macro Movements trend reports, Expo West presence, webinars, and earned media in The New Yorker, Wired, NYT, VOX, and Food magazine).
Mattson firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Mattson
- Legal name
- Peter H. Mattson & Co., Inc.
- Website
- https://mattsonco.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1977
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Mattson is an employee-owned, privately held food and beverage product innovation firm founded in 1977, providing custom end-to-end consulting — from insights and strategy through formulation and commercialization — to CPG companies, restaurant operators, ingredient suppliers, and food startups, augmented by proprietary AI tools including MattsonIQ.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Mattson is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Foster City
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Mattson business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Food & Beverage Innovation Consulting: Mattson provides end-to-end food and beverage development services including strategy, innovation, and product development. Every engagement is custom, suggesting a project-based or retainer consulting model serving major CPG companies, restaurant operators, ingredient suppliers, and startups.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels9 records
Mattson product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Mattson is a B2B food and beverage innovation firm that delivers end-to-end product development services — from consumer insights, trend forecasting, brand and product strategy, ideation and concept creation, formulation and prototyping, through ingredient discovery, co-pack search and commercialization. Every engagement is custom, augmented by proprietary AI platforms (MattsonIQ™, Chef Insights™ AI, ProtoThink™ Foodservice AI) and proprietary methodologies such as ProtoThink LTO®, Consumer Guidance Panels, and Food Studio Ideations, along with pilot-plant capabilities including twin-screw extrusion and Microthermics equipment.
Product overview
Mattson is a food and beverage innovation firm offering comprehensive product development services across consumer packaged goods, foodservice, and ingredient categories. The company operates a portfolio of proprietary AI-powered tools including MattsonIQ™ (a free AI platform providing expert-level food intelligence), Chef Insights™ AI, and ProtoThink™ Foodservice AI. These AI tools complement their core service offerings including insights and strategy, product design and development, ingredient discovery, co-pack search and commercialization, and menu development. Mattson also maintains the Mattson AI Lab @ CIA in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America. The company has 40+ years of experience creating products across plant-based, cultivated meats, beverages, snacks, supplements, and novel ingredients. Mattson was founded in 1977 and maintains offices in Foster City, CA and Chicago, IL.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ProtoThink LTO: Proprietary technique for identifying LTO ideas, validating them with LTOiQ design insights, and bringing them to life with culinary and technical development.
- LTOiQ
- MattsonIQ
- Mattson AI Lab
- Mattson Foundation
Products and services
- MattsonIQ™ Free AI platform that delivers expert-level food intelligence to food scientists, chefs, product developers, and strategists, providing structured insights across ingredients, cuisines, and nutrition through a single prompt interface.
- Chef Insights™ AI AI-driven tool for foodservice professionals providing expert-level culinary intelligence to support menu development and innovation.
- ProtoThink™ Foodservice AI AI-driven tool for foodservice operators that supports limited time offer ideation, validation, and design insights for restaurant menu innovation.
- ProtoThink LTO® Proprietary technique for identifying big Limited Time Offer ideas, validating them with LTOiQ® design insights, and bringing them to life with craveable culinary and award-winning technical development for QSR and fast casual restaurants.
- AI-Enhanced Food & Beverage Product Innovation Services Suite of AI-enhanced food and beverage product innovation services complementing Mattson's traditional consulting offerings.
- Insights & Strategy Services Comprehensive trend forecasting, market research, and consumer insights services to guide food and beverage innovation strategy.
- Product Design & Development End-to-end product development services from concept through scale-up, including formulation, prototyping, and commercialization support.
- Ingredient Discovery & Applications Expertise in identifying and applying novel and upcycled ingredients, including supplier relationships and functional ingredient solutions.
- Co-Pack Search & Commercialization Services to identify co-manufacturers and support scale-up from product development through commercial production.
- Menu Development Menu creation and development services for multi-unit foodservice operators, including new menu categories, scaling ingredients, and new restaurant concept development.
- Extrusion Services Twin screw extrusion processing capabilities for textural transformation, portfolio expansion, and creation of new consumption occasions, led by extrusion experts in partnership with academic expertise.
Quantifiable outcome
- Thousands of products developed generating billions of dollars in sales
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Mattson
Customer profileNamed customers16 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Mattson technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature7 records
Mattson partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Culinary Institute of America (CIA)coreCIA is the exclusive launch partner for MattsonIQ AI platform. The collaboration includes establishing the Mattson AI Lab @ CIA, enabling select CIA faculty and students to collaborate with Mattson's AI leadership on applying artificial intelligence to food innovation. The partnership aims to help CIA students gain a competitive advantage in an evolving food industry by combining advanced AI capabilities with culinary creativity and critical thinking.
- LanzaTechminorMattson partnered with LanzaTech for testing and prototyping applications of LanzaTech Nutritional Protein (LNP), a bacterial protein product derived from CO2 and hydrogen, across fish feed, pet food, and human food applications including smoothies, dairy-free cheese, and bread.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Mattson competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Sterling-Rice Group: Boulder-based brand strategy and innovation firm serving major food and beverage brands. Closely comparable to Mattson in combining strategy, ideation, and product development for CPG and foodservice clients.
- FoodMinds: Food, beverage, and nutrition-focused consultancy delivering insights, strategy, and innovation services to CPG and ingredient companies. Overlapping client segments and service mix with Mattson's insights and ingredient discovery practices.
- Curion: Consumer insights and sensory research firm specializing in CPG product testing and innovation. Comparable to Mattson's Consumer Guidance Panels and broader insights capabilities.
- Mintel: Global market research firm with deep food and beverage coverage providing trend analysis, consumer insights, and innovation inspiration. Comparable to Mattson's insights, trend tracking, and concept development offerings.
- Innova Market Insights: Specialized food and beverage market research provider tracking trends, ingredients, and product launches globally. Overlapping trend-forecasting and category insights relevant to Mattson's strategy and ideation work.
- Datassential: Foodservice and CPG market research firm focused on menu and product trends. Comparable to Mattson's menu development and LTO innovation (ProtoThink) services for restaurant and packaged goods clients.
Broad incumbents
- Circana: Large-scale market research and consumer insights firm (formed from IRI and NielsenIQ merger). Operates across CPG and retail with broader capabilities than Mattson, but competes on the consumer insights and innovation tracking layers.
- NielsenIQ: Global consumer intelligence and market research firm serving CPG manufacturers and retailers. Competes with Mattson on consumer insights, trend tracking, and innovation measurement at significantly greater scale.
- Kantar: Diversified consumer insights and brand strategy consultancy serving global CPG clients. Comparable in brand strategy and innovation research dimensions, with broader geographic reach than Mattson.
Others
- The Hatchery Chicago: Chicago-based food and beverage business incubator and innovation space supporting CPG entrepreneurs from concept through commercialization. Adjacent in serving the same startup and foodservice client segments and now co-located in Chicago after Mattson's Hyde Park Group acquisition.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Mattson social profiles
Digital presenceMattson financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Mattson leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Mattson subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Mattson funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Mattson M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Mattson
What does Mattson do?
Mattson is a B2B food and beverage innovation firm that delivers end-to-end product development services — from consumer insights, trend forecasting, brand and product strategy, ideation and concept creation, formulation and prototyping, through ingredient discovery, co-pack search and commercialization. Every engagement is custom, augmented by proprietary AI platforms (MattsonIQ™, Chef Insights™ AI, ProtoThink™ Foodservice AI) and proprietary methodologies such as ProtoThink LTO®, Consumer Guidance Panels, and Food Studio Ideations, along with pilot-plant capabilities including twin-screw extrusion and Microthermics equipment.
Is Mattson a public or private company?
Mattson is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Mattson founded?
Mattson was founded in 1977. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Mattson based?
Mattson is headquartered in Foster City, United States, in the North America region.
How does Mattson make money?
One revenue line is on record: food & Beverage Innovation Consulting.
Who are Mattson's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Sterling-Rice Group, FoodMinds, Curion, Mintel, Innova Market Insights and Datassential. Broad incumbents are Circana, NielsenIQ and Kantar. The Hatchery Chicago is listed as an others.
Does Mattson have an API?
No public API is recorded for Mattson.