Smart production line for sweet proteins launched in Jinan

Bestzyme, a synthetic biology company under GenScript Biotech has announced the completion of its automated smart production line for sweet proteins at its Jinan facility. Said to be the world’s first-dedicated line of its kind, it features a full-chain integration of R&D, mass production, and application for sweet proteins globally, addressing the food and beverage industry's challenge of reducing sugar without compromising taste. At the plant, Bestzyme will manufacture Mellia^® Brazzein sweet protein.

(Source: Bestzyme)

What is Mellia^® Brazzein?

The real challenge in sugar reduction is not simply removing sugar, but replicating the pure, full-bodied, natural taste of sucrose while removing calories and metabolic burden, according to Dr. Bai Aixi, General Manager of Bestzyme.

The company's flagship product, Mellia^® Brazzein sweet protein, is not a simple replacement for traditional sweeteners, but rather the "final piece of the puzzle" in sweetener formulations. It can efficiently blend with existing sweeteners such as Stevia and Monk fruit to achieve complete, rounded sweetness. With a clean label and no impact on blood sugar, Mellia^® means "zero sugar" no longer requires a compromise on taste — it's an upgrade.

Brazzein, derived from the West African Oubli fruit, is thousands of times sweeter than sucrose, with virtually no glycemic impact and zero calories. However, due to low host expression levels and extreme difficulty in separation and purification, it has long remained at the laboratory stage. Bestzyme, with over a decade of expertise in industrial enzymes and biocatalysis, has successfully overcome high-density fermentation.

The new Jinan facility spans 5,000sqm and features a fully automated "fermentation — purification — freeze-drying" process. Once operational, the Mellia^® sweet protein product line will have an annual capacity of over 100 tons. Based on high-purity Brazzein sweetness conversion, this is equivalent to the sweetness of 300,000 tons of sucrose annually. Capacity is expected to have the potential to double within two years.

First launched in the U.S. market

Mellia^® has completed its "0 to 1" commercial validation. In the U.S. market, Mellia^® partnered with a sparkling water brand to bring a product to market achieving zero sugar with full-bodied sweetness, gaining consumer recognition and entering the "1 to N" scale-up phase.

On the regulatory front, Mellia^® received a "No Questions Letter" from the U.S. FDA in April 2025, confirming its GRAS status, alongside regulatory progress underway in several other countries and regions.

According to industry reports, the global sweet protein market reached the tens-of-millions scale in 2025. Companies with integrated "R&D + owned production + application solutions" capabilities are extremely rare globally. Bestzyme is the first to achieve this, providing customers in the global food and beverage industry with structural guarantees in supply stability, quality control, and response speed.

Opening a new era of natural sweetness

The completion of Bestzyme's Jinan production line marks a landmark industrialization breakthrough for synthetic biology manufacturing in the natural sugar reduction sector, a market valued in the hundreds of billions.

Mellia^® is positioned as the "final piece of the puzzle" in sweetener formulations, delivering complete, rounded sweetness through synergistic blending. Brand proposition: Make Sweetness Complete.