Shiru Inc., a sustainable ingredient innovator for the food industry, has appointed Dr. Ranjani Varadan as its first Chief Scientific Officer, with effect from August 1, 2022. Varadan will report directly to Shiru Founder and CEO Dr. Jasmin Hume.
Varadan was a key scientist and leader for 10 years at Impossible Foods. She was the first scientist hired by Impossible Foods’ Founder and Chairman Dr. Patrick O. Brown, and from 2011-2021 she took on a series of roles with increasing responsibility, including Vice President of Strategic Ingredients and Vice President of Research and Development.
As CSO at Shiru, Varadan will oversee all aspects of R&D, from discovery and screening to ingredient pre-production. She will serve as a key member of Shiru’s executive team and grow the company’s talent base in producing gelation ingredients and structured fats for better-tasting baked goods, alternative meats, and more. Varadan will partner closely with Shiru’s upstream computational and downstream product teams to develop a high-value product pipeline for the world’s leading food manufacturers, the statement said.
“Ranjani played an essential role in Impossible Foods’ trajectory, from its earliest days as a stealth lab to its mainstream, mass-market scaleup. That makes her uniquely qualified to help lead our team as Shiru scales up discovery and production of ingredients for the world’s largest food conglomerates,” said Hume, who started Shiru with funding from leading venture capital firms such as S2G Ventures, Lux Capital, and CPT Capital. “Also, after working closely with her as a trusted adviser, I know she is a team player, 100% mission-aligned with our growing workforce.”
“Shiru has world-class scientists, a growing reputation as a true partner to its corporate customers, and exceptional esprit de corps,” Varadan said. “The team shares my deep passion and sense of urgency to decarbonize our planet by making the food system sustainable. Shiru is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me — and for our planet.”
Varadan left Impossible Foods in 2021 to spend a year teaching chemistry and other classes at her son’s middle school in the San Francisco Bay Area. During that time, she took on a role as science adviser to Shiru, where she got to know the team, technology, and corporate culture. Shiru, which now employs about 40 people, has had virtually zero voluntary turnover since its founding in 2019.
Before Impossible, Varadan was an adjunct professor of chemistry at State University of New York Purchase. She was a postdoctoral associate at New York Structural Biology Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine (2007-2010) and a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University School of Medicine (2005-2006). Varadan received her PhD in biochemistry at the University of Maryland and received her master’s and bachelor’s degrees from India’s Birla Institute of Technology and Science.
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