180. Fungi in Full Color: Ricky Cassini Reimagines Dye at Michroma
About this episode
Ricky Cassini discusses the challenges and innovations in replacing synthetic food dyes with fermentation-based colorants.
Ricky Cassini, CEO of Michroma and a former logistics professor turned biotech founder, breaks down why replacing synthetic food dyes is harder than it sounds—and why fermentation-based colorants can outperform both petrochemical dyes and many plant-based “natural” extracts. The conversation covers the core technical constraints that matter to food companies (thermal stability, pH stability, coloring power, flavor neutrality, and supply reliability), why fermentation behaves more like manufacturing than farming, and how regulatory shifts are accelerating demand for bio-based reds and whites (including titanium dioxide alternatives). For an audience following the future of materials and biomanufacturing, this episode is a practical look at how industrial fermentation can modernize a legacy supply chain while meeting performance and consumer expectations. Grow Everything brings the bioeconomy to life. Hosts Karl Schmieder and Erum Azeez Khan share stories and interview the leaders and influencers changing the world by growing everything. Biology is the oldest technology. And it can be engineered. What are we growing? Learn more at…
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- 175. Seaweed Is the New Oil: Mari Granström Builds Origin by Ocean
- 174. From Beer to Billions: Kevin Wenger Scales Microbes at Lallemand
- 173. They Put the Ore in Organisms: Liz Dennett’s Microbial Mining at Endolith
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