BOONE, N.C. — Dr. Brett Taubman, professor in Appalachian State University’s Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences and director of the Fermentation Sciences program, was featured on the Sept. 18 episode of the Agriculture in North Carolina podcast to discuss Rootsii, a sweet potato-based milk alternative he is developing with co-founder Daniel Parker, Fermentation Sciences lab manager at App State. Rootsii is backed by a $1.82 million NCInnovation grant awarded earlier this year.
During the interview, Taubman explains how an idea sparked by work in App State’s Fermentation Sciences program grew into a product designed to create new uses for one of North Carolina’s signature crops. Rootsii is being developed using sweet potatoes that might otherwise go unsold or remain in the field because they do not meet cosmetic grading standards, potentially creating an additional market for the state’s farmers while reducing agricultural waste.
Taubman also takes listeners behind the scenes of the product’s development, from creating its creamy texture and refining its nutritional profile to plans for bringing Rootsii to market. He discusses a larger vision for processing North Carolina-grown crops within the state, including the possibility of eventually expanding beyond sweet potatoes to berries, muscadine grapes, and other agricultural products.
###
About the A.R. Smith Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences
The A.R. Smith Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences offers a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry, a Bachelor of Science in chemistry with eight different concentrations, and an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Science degree in fermentation sciences. The department’s programs prepare students to attend graduate and professional schools, as well as for employment in the pharmaceutical and fermentation industries and other business sectors. Learn more about App State’s A.R. Smith Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences
A gray-haired man with a mustache, dark glasses, and a pink shirt holds a beige beverage in a fermentation sciences laboratory.
Dr. Brett Taubman is a professor in Appalachian State University’s Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences and director of the Fermentation Sciences program. Photo by Chase Reynolds