SPC Group Registers Patents for 'Native Yeast' in Four Overseas Countries

Patent Registrations Completed in the United States, France, China, and Japan

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-sun] SPC Group announced on the 7th that it has completed patent registration for its domestically developed native yeast in four overseas countries.

Since 2015, SPC Group has successfully discovered native yeast and lactic acid bacteria and completed a total of 12 patent registrations in four countries: the United States, China, France, and Japan.

As microbial resources are emerging as a core national competitive advantage, it is highly significant that the microbial resources for baking, developed purely through domestic research technology, have been recognized for their distinctiveness and value overseas.

In 2005, SPC Group established the SPC Food Biotechnology Research Institute to conduct basic research on microorganisms and food materials. SPC Group Chairman Huh Young-in has consistently emphasized quality management and made active investments, stating, “To compete in the global market, we must have proprietary core technologies.”

As a result, the SPC Food Biotechnology Research Institute, in collaboration with researchers from Seoul National University, analyzed over 10,000 native microorganisms over 11 years and identified yeast and lactic acid bacteria suitable for baking from traditional Korean foods such as nuruk and kimchi. Furthermore, by combining these microorganisms, they developed the baking starter culture ‘Sangmijong,’ successfully commercialized it, and applied it to coffee, achieving the first domestic development of ‘anaerobic fermented coffee,’ thereby securing differentiated quality competitiveness.

SPC Group’s discovery of native yeast for baking is not only a remarkable achievement proving the excellence of Korea’s fermentation technology and microbial research but is also credited with opening the era of industrialization and popularization of ‘fermented starter bread’ in Korea. Additionally, by replacing imported baking yeast, which had been solely relied upon, it has created an import substitution effect exceeding 7 billion KRW annually. SPC Group plans to expand beyond food into the bio business through continuous research and development and accumulation of know-how in the microbial field.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.