Two innovative young food companies, BeanTastic Hummus and SUCSEED, are shortlisted along with the Quadram Institute, in the Academic to Business Collaboration of the Year in the Tastebuds Collective Collaboration awards.

Researchers from the Quadram Institute, working through our consultancy service, QIB Extra, have supported BeanTastic Hummus and SUCSEED with science-backed insights as part of the companies’ respective product developments.

Norwich Research Park-based BeanTastic Hummus and the Quadram Institute (QI) undertook R&D collaboration to create “Cool Beans Hummus”: a functional food specifically optimised to support women’s health during menopause.

Supported by a grant from the Anglia Innovation Partnership (AIP), the project translated high-level food science into a commercially viable prototype ready for scaled production. Unlike traditional supplements, Cool Beans Hummus offers a “food-first” solution, using natural ingredients to deliver evidence-based nutritional support for hormone balance, heart health, and energy.

BeanTastic’s co-founders, Dr Rudy Maor and Dr Louise Chappell-Maor, worked alongside Dr Jennifer Ahn-Jarvis of the Quadram, and with Dr Alan Brailsford of QIB Extra (the commercial-facing arm of the QI). The aim of the project was to bring the founders’ vision of ‘hummus for menopause’ to life, by creating a scientifically backed, tasty food product that bridges the gap between menopause research and tasty, familiar, and scalable food.

“As a woman in her forties, I was frustrated by the limited options available to support menopause symptoms,” said Dr Louise Chappell-Maor, co-founder of BeanTastic. “We wanted to create a functional food that tasted great and is genuinely good for women’s health, not another pill or powder”.

Norfolk-based functional food brand SUCSEED completed an exploratory gut microbiome study with scientists at the Quadram Institute through QIB Extra on the Norwich Research Park, supported by Innovate UK Business Growth and delivered through RTC North Limited.

At the heart of the project is SUCSEED’s Gut Health blend — a fibre-rich mix of flax, chia, pumpkin, sunflower and hemp seeds, alongside botanicals including nettle, dandelion, maca root and Korean ginseng — created to make it simple to add more plant diversity to daily meals.

Helen Johnston, Founder of SUCSEED, said: ‘We’re proud to be building SUCSEED here in Norfolk — and even prouder to collaborate with one of the UK’s most respected centres for food and gut health science. These results are early and exploratory, but they give us an exciting foundation and a clear direction for what to test next.

Dr Alan Brailsford, Head of Operations for QIB Extra, said: “We’re delighted to have been able to use our scientific expertise to provide insight for two exciting and innovative local functional food start-ups and we wish both BeanTastic Hummus and SUCSEED all the very best for the night of the final.”

Tastebuds Collective Collaboration awards finalists 2026

Academic to Business Collaboration of the Year

• BeanTastic Hummus with Quadram Institute
• Wildly Tasty and Norwich Business School
• SUCSEED with Quadram Institute

Innovation Project of the Year

• KORUTEK ENGINEERING with Resilin
• Morgans Butchers with Wandering Herd & Castors Pastures
• Norwich University of the Arts with BrocStar

Business to Business Collaboration of the Year

• KORUTEK ENGINEERING with Rezylix
• Eufloria Drinks with Andrew Piper
• Join the Chocolution! with St Giles House Hotel

New Product Development of the Year

• Norfolk Mushroomery & Candi’s Cupboard
• Humber Doucy Brewing Company & Boudicca Brewing
• BeanTastic Hummus & Invested Operations

Student Collaboration of the Year

• Wildly Tasty & Norwich Business School
• Sweet Smiles of Norfolk Limited & Norwich Business School
• Norwich University of the Arts & BrocStar

About BeanTastic Hummus

BeanTastic Hummus is an award-winning, Norfolk-based food tech startup operating out of the Norwich Research Park. Founded by Rudy Maor and Louise Chappell-Maor, they specialise in producing clean-label, high-protein, and high-fibre plant-based hummus made with extra virgin olive oil and no artificial preservatives.

About SUCSEED

SUCSEED is a Norfolk-based functional food and health brand founded by former magazine editor and trained nutritionist Helen Johnston. The company creates nutrient-dense, cold-milled superblends made from whole seeds and botanical herbs that can be easily sprinkled onto any sweet or savoury meal to boost everyday nutrition.

About QIB Extra

QIB Extra is the research consultancy arm of the Quadram Institute and facilitates engagement between researchers at Quadram Institute Bioscience (QIB) and external businesses seeking to utilise the world-leading knowledge available within QIB to drive their business forward and shape their strategic decisions.

About Tastebuds Collective

Tastebuds emerged as a response to the region’s growing demand for resources, networking opportunities, and commercial collaboration, aiming to unite food and drink businesses, academia and research along with the public sector under a common platform.  The collective is registered as a limited by guarantee, non-profit company, to fully evolve into a trade organisation for the food and drink community, with strong roots in Norfolk and Suffolk, but able to support further afield and bring in network connections from across the country and Europe. Tastebuds Collective, beyond its’ membership, is a central hub of contacts with over 1,000 organisations in the wider network.

• The Tastebuds Collective Collaboration Awards final takes place at Carrow House, Norwich, on the evening of 21 July 2026.