Innovator Azhar part of a quiet revolution creating healthier foods

In today’s modern world of business it is crucial to innovate - not only to survive turbulent times but also for growth and to ensure an enterprise flourishes well into the future.
Azhar Murtuza of Born Maverick is a natural food pioneer keen on collaborating to develop a food innovation hub in Northern IrelandAzhar Murtuza of Born Maverick is a natural food pioneer keen on collaborating to develop a food innovation hub in Northern Ireland
Azhar Murtuza of Born Maverick is a natural food pioneer keen on collaborating to develop a food innovation hub in Northern Ireland

In today’s modern world of business it is crucial to innovate - not only to survive turbulent times but also for growth and to ensure an enterprise flourishes well into the future.

Incremental innovation - small step changes - to manufacturing and marketing can lead to improved efficiencies, increased product sales and a better bottom line. But to allow a business to truly grow and flourish on its own terms, often radical innovation - thinking and acting beyond the norm - is required.

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This adage applies across all industries. Food innovation is now rapidly exploding across the world as food and beverage companies seek to make tasty, healthy and nutritious offerings that are unique and sustainable.

Consumers are also becoming increasingly discerning and demanding. ‘Me too’ products - often operating in a competitive race to the bottom - just don’t cut it.

Belfast-based Born Maverick is one such food innovator that is certainly pushing back the boundaries. Biotechnologist Azhar Murtuza, who founded the small leading edge business, believes global opportunities abound for food innovators with the right mind-set and growth aspirations.

“Agile innovation lies at the heart of the Born Maverick business model,” explains Azhar. “We design and develop new plant-based novel foods, often collaboratively with international centres of excellence, and then partner with key food manufacturers that can market and sell to a global marketplace.”

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Over the past couple of years, Azhar continues, Born Maverick has developed three novel foods in this way – a milk made from wholegrain, shrimps/scallops made from seaweed, and adaptogen lollies. Adaptogens are plants that help the body respond to stress, anxiety, fatigue and boost overall wellbeing.

“These original products were designed in Belfast and developed in collaboration with partners in England, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark and Sweden,” he adds.

Licensing arrangements to manufacture and sell these products in Europe and Asia are currently under discussion. Further plant-based projects include protein extraction and repurposing spent food materials.

Born Maverick’s ethos, he says, is driven by two core themes. One is providing consumers with healthier food options, and the other is sustainability. On one hand, the world is struggling to feed a burgeoning global population, while on the other a profligate food production system pays scant regard to natural resources and climate impact.

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Born Maverick is playing its part in a quiet revolution by making healthier foods in more earth-friendly ways. Having graduated from Queen’s University Belfast’s graduate school, Azhar, originally from India, subsequently decided to make NI his home and future base of operations.

Presently operating from a small Research and Development lab in Belfast, Azhar explains, it is Born Maverick’s intention “to build and locate in Northern Ireland a team of expert food scientists gathered from around the world, researching and developing plant-based novel foods for global manufacture and consumption”.

This team and facility can become a global leader in protein and food innovation – a first of its kind for NI, he says.

Azhar has already begun to scope that project and is keen for others to join. Where this kind of venture has succeeded in other parts of the world, notably Scandinavia and Asia, it was because of the encouragement and active engagement of three main actors - local government, academia and industry.

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Without each playing a committed role the net benefits to the local economy are much less. Azhar is keen to hear from anyone interested in building a sustainable agri-food eco-system in NI.

Azhar graduated in biotech engineering in India before enrolling for an International MBA at Queen’s in Belfast in 2016. He brought with him to Belfast an interest in developing natural and nutritious products with sustainable environment in food industry.

In 2018, he set up Born Maverick to develop and market innovative food products, the outcome of his extensive knowledge and research into plant-based foods. His dream is to create a food innovation centre in NI. He says companies in NI are beginning to realise the potential of vegan foods in particular and have approached him about developing their own home-based products.

The innovation-led company is finalising a novel product of prawns and scallops that are made from seaweed that replicates the taste and texture of the real thing.

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“There is a huge demand for new products from global food companies and we have received interest in our vegan shrimps and scallops, particularly from the US, Scandinavia and Singapore. We are currently finding the right match for the product.”

As well as developing vegan seafood, Born Maverick is also working on the creation of highly nutritious plant-based dairy products and iced lollies that contain healthy nutrients and fibres.