Sugar Lab buys back its tech to take 3D-printed foods mainstream

The 3D printing world can print in concrete, plastic, metal, and pretty much anything else that starts off squishy and becomes solid over time. Sugar Lab shows us a bunch of different types of food. The company was acquired by 3D Systems but the co-founders decided to change their minds. They wrestled the company loose again from its corporate overlords and are trying to grow it by themselves.

Husband And Wife Architects Create The Sugar Lab, A Foundry For 3D Printed Sweets

A lack of regular cooking tools led to the creation of the company. He hacked an old 3D printer to make cupcakes, and since then he has been making weird cakes and sweets. Most 3D printing applications don't consider the tech involved in making the printers food-safe, as the company describes what it does as a "digital bakery."

It was obvious to me that 3D printing with food paste was too slow and rudimentary for widespread use. I pivoted to another 3D printing engine where thin layers of dehydrated food powder are bound layer after layer by water jetted from a printhead to allow for precise, fast, full-color 3D printing. Mass adoption is the problem in the 3D-printed food space.

There is a custom-printed sugar cube. The image is from the film, Currant 3D.

The race is on to raise more money and bring the products to market after the new company acquired the 3D printing tech.

The company claims its printers can print complex foods in full color, with the ability to scale the production for large batches of tasty treats. A number of ingredients can be printed by the pritners. The company has a solution that appears to be the only one of its kind.

It may seem trivial, but our success is based on a simple design theory that every chef knows by heart. Von Hassln says that the 3D printer is best-in-class at creating beautiful food because it uses all the promise of 3D design and 3D printing. I want to make this technology accessible to every chef in the world. Chefs understand that well-designed food can create a completely new experience in the kitchen.

The company raised $5 million. The money is being used to spin up the operations of the company.

3D Systems acquired Kyle's 3D printer after he and I created and ran the CURRANT 3D Printer from scratch. After leaving 3D Systems we found our company and became the largest purchaser of 3D printing technology. When an opportunity to acquire the tech arose this year, we went back to our investor network and raised capital to acquire the CURRANT 3D Printer platform. The technology is back in the hands of its original inventors. We are in complete control of our future, we are 3D printing food faster than ever, expanding into a much larger commercial kitchen, and enabling others to build their own 3D production kitchens through the purchase of 3D printers.

The company wants to make 3D-printed food ubiquitous. It doesn't mean replacing how existing, well-loved foods are made, but giving chefs new powers to experiment and make new types of food

Adoption of digital design and 3D printing is critical for a more sustainable and secure food future. If you can download a new 3D design into a regional 3D printing kitchen, you can cut deeply into the inefficiencies of legacy food production that rely on trucking ingredients all over the country.