Ajinomoto 3D Printed Meat

In 2023, my undergraduate program at the time ran a Career Experience Practicum where students could experience working in innovation and business development for companies. That year, it was with Ajinomoto. The program lasted from April to June, with our final presentation being done over at Ajinomoto's Client Innovation Center (CIC) in Kawasaki.

We were tasked with proposing a new business venture for Ajinomoto in four new innovation areas where the company can best utilize its strengths to address social issues and fulfill its vision through 2030 and beyond. These areas were: healthcare innovation, food and wellness innovation, ICT innovation, and green innovation

My group decided to focus on the food and wellness area while still contributing to the green area. We came up with the idea of 3D-printed food, as it utilizes Ajinomoto's biggest strength in its amino acids as 3D ink. At the same time, creating an alternative for meat-lovers with an environmentally-friendly version that is equally tasty but healthier.

So we expanded upon this idea by making a service around it, creating a speculative future where anyone can have 3D-printed meat created in their own 3D printers at home through Ajinomoto trademarked inks, or be delivered to their homes after customizing the nutrients to satisfy their dietary needs.

I created a mockup of our 3D food personalization platform using Photoshop. It includes desktop and mobile versions, which are the website and app versions. I made the homepage, a user profile that informs users of their bodily nutrients, locations of clinics to do a health checkup, and a page to personalize the nutrients inside their desired 3D-printed meat.

The user is expected to go to a clinic and have their dietary needs unraveled from what their body is lacking. Then, they can customize their 3D food and control the amount of protein, sodium, vitamins, etc., and even adjust the flavor intensity, texture, and shape. The food will then be printed with their own 3D printers!

We did our presentation for Ajinomoto, and I think our idea was well-received by the Ajinomoto team. We received a comment of approval, saying that we tackled the issue of 3D printing's scalability by creating a timeline of what the technology could look like. However, we also received criticism that we did not consider whether consumers would even want to eat 3D-printed food (valid concern!). All in all, this class was an amazing experience for me. I have made great friends, accomplished great feats, and visited Ajinomoto's great facility. I am grateful to have experienced this great opportunity.