App State professor Dr. Brett Taubman, left, and Fermentation Sciences Lab manager Daniel Parker have developed the sweetpotato milk Rootsii in fermentation lab facilities at App State. The locally sourced, sustainable and allergy-friendly product received $1.82 million in funding from NCInnovation, with a goal of bringing the milk from proof of concept to store shelves over the next two years. Photo by Chase Reynolds
BOONE, N.C. — Backed by a $1.82 million NCInnovation grant, Appalachian State University professor Dr. Brett Taubman and his research team are transforming millions of pounds of surplus North Carolina sweetpotatoes into a first-of-its-kind, plant-based milk. The initiative — Rootsii — also provides undergraduate researchers with hands-on experience in developing a new agricultural product line.
The startup will produce milk, creamers, ice cream, yogurt and other fermented foods such as sweetpotato-based miso and fermented hot sauce. The bi-regional production model features a bulk processing facility in Eastern North Carolina, where the majority of sweetpotatoes are grown, along with a production facility in Boone. In North Carolina, approximately 63 million pounds of sweetpotatoes are left to rot in fields each year, costing farmers an estimated $13.2 million annually.
“The Rootsii project brings home the value of public impact research at App State,” said Dr. Christine Ogilvie Hendren, vice chancellor of research and innovation at App State. “NCInnovation’s funding lends critical support to this novel approach of converting the unused material of a key North Carolina crop into a viable and nutritious product line.”
The milk has been developed and refinement of the related products will follow, said Taubman, who founded Rootsii in partnership with Fermentation Sciences Lab manager Daniel Parker. The project, under development since June 2024, is currently in the proof of concept stage, with an aim of being market-ready within two years.
Taubman is optimistic that the company, at scale, could create hundreds of jobs and seize a portion of the expanding plant-based milk market, which is projected to grow from $22.5 billion globally in 2025 to more than $40 billion by 2035, according to market estimates.
“The larger plant-based milk industry is already a multibillion-dollar industry, and in the next 10 years, it is expected to almost double. So it’s a huge growth industry,” said Taubman, who directs the fermentation sciences program in App State’s Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences.
Four undergraduate student researchers have worked on developing the milk and related products, helping test production processes and formulations for yield, nutritional content, flavor, texture and other factors. The NCInnovation grant will fund four student researchers for a total of 1,800 hours per year over two years.
Steps ahead include consumer testing, shelf life validation, production scaling and commercialization strategy.
A nonprofit organization and public-private partnership, NCInnovation provides grant funding, mentorship and partnership development to support research and discoveries with practical and commercial potential at North Carolina’s public universities, with a goal to support economic growth and job creation across the state. Rootsii’s $1.82 million grant figure is preliminary and will not be final until contract agreements are signed.
“North Carolina is the country’s top sweetpotato producer, and Dr. Taubman’s work could open an entire new market for those farmers while reducing agricultural waste,” said NCInnovation CEO Michelle Bolas. “NCInnovation finds promising university technologies and gets them ready to be businesses in North Carolina.”
Rootsii, a novel milk made from surplus sweetpotatoes, will draw raw product from North Carolina growers under an NCInnovation-funded App State plan to scale commercial production for market. Photo by Chase Reynolds
Rooted in North Carolina
Taubman and Parker have created a patent-pending production process using enzymes to break down the root’s long-chain starches. The milk has a natural mild sweetness without a need for added sugars, Taubman noted. Rich in vitamins A and C, potassium and magnesium, the product has a smooth, rich taste and texture compared to other plant-based milks, according to the researchers.
North Carolina — which produces 60% of sweetpotatoes grown in the U.S. — is well positioned as far as access to the raw product, up to 40% of which can be lost between the field and the store shelf, according to the researchers.
Besides being locally sourced, the product uses a fraction of the water needed to produce almond milk, helping make it a sustainable commodity, Taubman noted.
“This product is made out of only sweetpotatoes, chia seeds as the emulsifier, a yeast-derived protein and coconut oil,” Taubman said. “That’s cheap and easy to source as well.”
Taubman said the coconut oil will eventually be replaced with muscadine grape seed oil, an abundant waste product of the North Carolina wine industry.
The sweetpotato industry has been declining from pandemic-era disruptions in distribution and changing consumer patterns and is prime for a reinvention through a product geared to health-conscious and allergen-sensitive customers, Taubman said.
“We have our sweetpotato casserole, our sweetpotato pies, but we don’t necessarily eat sweetpotatoes on a regular basis, even though they are nutritious and delicious,” he said. “So that industry is desperately in need of innovation, and we have an innovation that should seriously help to promote it.”
A network of partners and collaborators who have agreed to assist, or are actively helping to move the project from concept to commercial product, include:
- North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission, helping to secure the raw product and assisting with relationship-building across related industries
- Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute’s Culinary Arts program, assisting with recipe development and product testing
- Boone Area Chamber of Commerce and Watauga Economic Development Commission, assisting with developing economic opportunity and a workforce pipeline
- High Country Workforce Development Board, assisting in workforce development
- High Country Impact Fund, providing mentorship in moving the project into full commercial capacity
Talks are also underway with merchant distributors and beverage companies.
“Rootsii offers a new pathway to revitalize demand for sweetpotatoes and stabilize the regional agricultural economy,” Taubman said. “This is 100% a North Carolina product.”
To learn more about Rootsii, visit Rootsii.com.
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About the A.R. Smith Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences
The A.R. Smith Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences offers a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry, a Bachelor of Science in chemistry with eight different concentrations and an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Science degree in fermentation sciences. The department’s programs prepare students to attend graduate and professional schools, as well as for employment in the pharmaceutical and fermentation industries and other business sectors. Learn more at https://dcfs.appstate.edu.
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Appalachian State University is home to 17 academic departments, two centers and one residential college. These units span the humanities and the social, mathematical and natural sciences. CAS aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university's strengths, traditions and locations. The college’s values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating and sustaining the development of its students as global citizens. More than 6,800 student majors are enrolled in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing App State’s general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges. Learn more at https://cas.appstate.edu.
About Appalachian State University
As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.
