Benson Hill Strategically Partners with the World's Largest Brewer, AB InBev, to Improve Barley Quality and Sustainability Worldwide

ST. LOUIS, Jan. 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Benson Hill Biosystems, a crop improvement company unlocking the natural diversity of plants, and Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), the world's leading brewer, today announced a global partnership to develop improved barley varieties using Benson Hill's computational platform Breed, powered by CropOS™. By harnessing the power of predictive breeding, AB InBev will equip farmers around the world with more productive and sustainable barley varieties.

Recent reports have highlighted the sensitivity of barley to extreme heat and drought, underscoring the importance of developing varieties with greater resilience to climate change. As part of its 2025 Sustainability Goals, AB InBev leverages SmartBarley—an innovation platform that utilizes data, technology, and insights to help barley farmers in the AB InBev supply chain improve the productivity and environmental performance of their farms. AB InBev will use Benson Hill's Breed application in combination with traditional breeding methods to help accelerate the development of higher yielding barley varieties that use less water and other natural resources. 

"For AB InBev, brewing quality beer starts with the best ingredients. That requires a healthy environment and thriving communities," said Gary Hanning, Global Director of Barley Research at AB InBev. "Benson Hill's powerful Breed application positions us at the forefront of innovation to develop more resilient and sustainable varieties of barley for growers and the best quality malt for our brewers."

Benson Hill empowers organizations of any size across the agri-food value chain to benefit from the most advanced tools in seed innovation. CropOS identifies the most promising genetics for any targeted outcome from higher yield to environmental sustainability or enhanced nutrition. The platform's machine learning capability calibrates and evolves with each field trial and data set, improving its predictive capability to accelerate product development.

"AB InBev recognizes the power of plants and innovation to benefit both farmers and consumers," said Matt Crisp, CEO and co-founder of Benson Hill. "The Benson Hill team is eager to apply the predictive power of CropOS to AB InBev's SmartBarley program and rapidly advance its breeding efforts."

About Benson Hill Biosystems
Benson Hill empowers innovators with a revolutionary crop design platform to develop healthier and more sustainable food and ingredients. Our CropOS™ platform combines machine learning and big data with genome editing and plant biology to drastically accelerate and simplify the product development process. More information can be found online at www.bensonhillbio.com. Follow us on Twitter at @BensonHillBio.

About Anheuser-Busch InBev
AB InBev is a publicly traded company based in Leuven, Belgium, with secondary listings on the Mexico and South Africa stock exchanges and with American Depositary Receipts on the New York Stock Exchange. Our Dream is to bring people together for a better world. Beer, the original social network, has been bringing people together for thousands of years. We are committed to building great brands that stand the test of time and to brewing the best beers using the finest natural ingredients. Our diverse portfolio of well over 500 beer brands includes global brands Budweiser®, Corona® and Stella Artois®; multi-country brands Beck's®, Castle®, Castle Lite®, Hoegaarden® and Leffe®; and local champions such as Aguila®, Antarctica®, Bud Light®, Brahma®, Cass®, Cristal®, Harbin®, Jupiler®, Michelob Ultra®, Modelo Especial®, Quilmes®, Victoria®, Sedrin®, and Skol®. Our brewing heritage dates back more than 600 years, spanning continents and generations. From our European roots at the Den Hoorn brewery in Leuven, Belgium. To the pioneering spirit of the Anheuser & Co brewery in St. Louis, US. To the creation of the Castle Brewery in South Africa during the Johannesburg gold rush. To Bohemia, the first brewery in Brazil. Geographically diversified with a balanced exposure to developed and developing markets, we leverage the collective strengths of approximately 180,000 employees based in nearly 50 countries worldwide. For 2017, AB InBev's reported revenue was 56.4 billion USD (excluding JVs and associates).

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SOURCE Benson Hill Biosystems