Solar Foods lands first US consumer order for Solein with Ambrosia Collective protein launch

Solar Foods confirmed it had received an order for its air-derived protein ingredient Solein from Ambrosia Collective, marking a significant step in the company’s US commercialization plans and its push into consumer-facing nutrition products.

• Solar Foods received an order for Solein from Ambrosia Collective for a Planta-branded protein powder aimed at US consumers.

• The ready-to-mix product was scheduled for a limited launch in the first quarter of 2026.

• The deal marked one of the first Solein-powered protein powders intended for consumer sale globally.

The order supported Ambrosia Collective’s plans to introduce a ready-to-mix protein powder under its Planta brand, aimed at the US sports nutrition and health supplement market. A limited volume of the product was intended to be made available to consumers during the first quarter of 2026.

Solar Foods said the collaboration would result in one of the first protein powder products containing Solein to reach consumers anywhere in the world. The launch also represented one of the earliest consumer-focused uses of Solein in the USA, following initial market entry through regulatory and commercial groundwork.

Ambrosia Collective operated as a sports nutrition and health supplement company developing performance-focused, vegan-friendly products. Alongside product development, the company emphasized consumer education around nutrition, performance, and health, with a portfolio spanning protein supplements, wellness products, and formulations designed to support weight management and physical performance.

According to Ambrosia, the Planta protein powder was designed to align scientific credibility with consumer appeal, combining functional nutrition with flavor-led formulation. The inclusion of Solein formed part of the company’s strategy to integrate novel ingredients that offered both nutritional value and sustainability credentials.

“Ambrosia was formed to take the human body to the next level, using real science and independently researched ingredients,” said Sean Torbati, co-founder of Ambrosia Collective. “We develop and produce breakthrough natural products with real science and innovative ingredients. In the case of Planta we have combined this with incredible flavor profiles that make your protein shake something to look forward to every day.”

Torbati said the company viewed Solein as a distinctive addition to its ingredient toolkit, citing both its nutritional profile and its production approach. “We are very excited to use Solein, a truly ground-breaking ingredient with great nutritional and environmental value – combining leading-edge science with nature’s own harvest,” he added.

Solar Foods had been advancing its commercialization strategy in the USA with a particular focus on the health and performance nutrition segment. The company viewed this category as a logical entry point for Solein, given its protein content, functional versatility, and alignment with trends around alternative and sustainable nutrition.

Before moving into the US market, Solein-powered products had already been made available to consumers in Singapore. Solar Foods had previously highlighted Singapore as an initial launch market due to its regulatory environment and openness to novel food technologies, using those early launches to build experience with consumer-facing applications.

The US order from Ambrosia signaled a transition from early market pilots to broader commercial engagement, particularly in categories where consumers were already familiar with protein powders and performance nutrition products. Solar Foods said it continued to work closely with customers to support formulation, scale-up, and market readiness.

“The Health & Performance nutrition category is growing continuously in the United States, and Solein excels as an ingredient in this category’s products,” said Rami Jokela, Chief Executive Officer of Solar Foods. “It’s beyond exciting to see the first Solein-powered products being launched in the significant market by different Health & Performance nutrition companies.”

Jokela said the company remained focused on customer collaboration as it expanded its commercial footprint. “We continue to work closely with customers to support developing products for consumers,” he added.

Solein was developed as a protein produced using carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and renewable electricity, rather than agricultural inputs. Solar Foods had positioned the ingredient as a way to decouple protein production from traditional land use and climate constraints, while still meeting functional and nutritional requirements for food and supplement applications.

While the initial launch with Ambrosia Collective was limited in scale, Solar Foods indicated that such early consumer products were intended to pave the way for wider adoption across multiple nutrition and food categories. The company’s near-term focus remained on health, performance, and specialty nutrition, where novel ingredients could be introduced with clearer value propositions and fewer formulation barriers.

For Ambrosia Collective, the planned Planta launch represented an opportunity to differentiate within a crowded protein powder market by incorporating an ingredient that was both unfamiliar to most consumers and positioned around science-driven innovation. The company said the limited first-quarter release would allow it to gauge consumer response while building awareness around Solein-powered nutrition in the US market.

The partnership underscored a broader trend of alternative protein developers entering sports nutrition as a first commercial pathway, leveraging established consumer habits around powders, supplements, and functional foods as a bridge to wider adoption.