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Israeli food-tech company Amai Proteins has appointed Doug Brown as chief executive officer as it moves to accelerate the commercial development of its sweet protein ingredient, Sweelin.

Brown took up the role on 1 September 2026, bringing extensive experience across the food, beverage and dietary supplement sectors in the US and Europe.

His appointment comes as food and beverage manufacturers continue to explore alternatives to conventional sugar and high-intensity sweeteners, driven by consumer demand for lower-sugar products as well as regulatory and nutritional pressures.

Amai says its lead ingredient, Sweelin, can enable up to 70% sugar reduction in food and beverage formulations while aiming to maintain taste, cost and sustainability performance.

Brown joins Amai from Sirio Pharma and Best Formulations, where he most recently served as chief commercial officer and head of global account management.

He previously held the position of chief commercial officer at UK-based Clasado Biosciences and headed business development for Nutritional Lipids at DSM Nutritional Products in Switzerland.

His career spans multinational businesses and scale-up companies, giving him experience across commercial development, business-to-business relationships and international market expansion.

Brown said his immediate focus would be helping Amai move into its next phase of growth, describing Sweelin as well positioned for what he called the “GLP-1/peptide era”.

Amai's Sweelin is a monellin-based sweet protein inspired by the serendipity berry. The company says it is approximately 3,000 times sweeter than sugar by weight.

The ingredient is produced using precision fermentation, a technology increasingly being explored by food-tech companies as a means of producing proteins and other functional ingredients at commercial scale.

Unlike traditional sugar-reduction approaches that can require blends of sweeteners, bulking agents or taste-masking technologies, Amai is positioning Sweelin as a protein-based alternative designed to deliver sweetness at very low inclusion levels.

The company says the ingredient has been developed for stability, affordability and compatibility with industrial food processing.

Potential applications include beverages, confectionery, chewing gum, condiments and dietary supplements.

Amai's latest leadership move signals a shift towards commercial scale-up following a period of development and strategic refocusing.

The company thanked outgoing CEO Dr Amir Guttman for leading the business through that period. Guttman will remain involved as an executive board member.