LISTEN: Fermenting a clean future through products from meat alternatives to skin creams and baby formula
September 13, 2025 | Austin Barnes
On this episode of Startland News’ Plug and Play Topeka founder podcast series, we chat with Francesca Gallucci of Natáur, a Baltimore-based biotech company that’s reimagining how essential nutrients are made. Combining synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, and eco-friendly fermentation, they’re producing bio-based taurine (and other naturally occurring sulfur compounds) without relying on petroleum.
Gallucci takes us behind the scenes: where Natáur’s science comes from, how its platform works, and how the company plans to scale up safely and sustainably.
Recorded live at the Plug and Play Animal Health & AgTech Expo in Topeka, this episode continues Startland News’ 12-part series on the founders transforming the future of animal health and agtech — and putting Topeka on the map as a national innovation hub.
Listen to a teaser below or click here for the full podcast episode.
Featured Business
2025 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Sprint Accelerator Demo Day preview (part II)
The second class of the Sprint Mobile Health Accelerator is gearing up for its much-anticipated Demo Day, which serves as a culminating event and is expected to draw a crowd of nearly 2,000 people. Led by Boulder-based Techstars, the Kansas City-based accelerator is now hosting 10 mobile health tech startups from around the world for its…
Study: Lack of funding curbs early-stage biz growth in Kansas City
The Kansas City metro area is losing out on millions of dollars in investment funding that could be helping to add jobs and grow businesses in the region, according to a new study. In recent years, area early-stage businesses’ progress has been stymied thanks to Kansas City’s lacking of microloans, seed capital and locally-based venture…
Sprint Accelerator Demo Day preview (part I)
The second class of the Sprint Mobile Health Accelerator is gearing up for its much-anticipated Demo Day, which serves as a culminating event and is expected to draw a crowd of nearly 2,000 people. Led by Boulder-based Techstars, the Kansas City-based accelerator is now hosting 10 mobile health tech startups from around the world for…
Mayor Sly James helps startup 1 Minute Candidate build, win competition
Kansas City Mayor Sly James stepped up this Sunday to help a team of entrepreneurs win a competition in which they built a business in 54 hours. James, a well-known cheerleader of Kansas City’s startup community, helped political-tech startup 1 Minute Candidate launch its platform at Startup Weekend Kansas City, a event in which entrepreneurial-hopefuls…