FLC | Mission Critical licenses high-performance meal replacement recipe from AFRL

Mission Critical licenses high-performance meal replacement recipe from AFRL

June 24, 2020

A U.S. military scientist designed a meal-replacement formulation of vitamins and protein to fully fuel the mind and body for endurance and power. And now it’s going public.

Mission Critical LLC, a California-based nutritional food startup has launched its first product this month after signing a patent license agreement with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. The license agreement, finalized on April 2, transferred the Air Force’s patent-pending recipe for a high-performance powdered meal replacement to Mission Critical, which has rebranded the mix as Meal Replacement Plus, or MR+.

“MR+ was designed to improve the endurance of elite soldiers on long-range patrols and extended missions,” said Zachary Harris, CEO and founder of Mission Critical. “But it’s perfect for super athletes and anyone else optimizing their performance, physical and cognitive.”

The mix-with-water powder contains specialized amino acid chains that help to maintain healthy blood sugar levels, increase hemoglobin production, and aid muscle growth and recovery. It was designed to preserve lean body mass and reduce muscle waste during intense exercise by Dr. Reggie O’Hara, a research physiologist at the 711th Human Performance Wing (O’Hara is himself an ultramarathon runner).

Harris is a recent graduate of the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business. In class, he listened to Jennifer Stewart, a guest speaker, talk about the opportunity to commercialize Department of Defense inventions.

Stewart is the tech transfer specialist at a nearby Navy lab, the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Corona. As such she’s a networking pro who helps Navy scientists and engineers promote their ideas and explains to companies and entrepreneurs how they can work with the Navy.

Stewart pointed Harris and his classmates to a non-profit organization, TechLink, which hosts an online database of thousands of military technologies that are available for commercialization.

“That night I spent time searching on the TechLink website, found a technology that was a perfect fit for me, and was awarded a license thanks to the wonderful help of our TechLink rep,” Harris said in a thankful hat tip to Stewart for her knowledge, and Christie Bell, a senior technology manager at TechLink who helped Harris navigate the Air Force licensing process.

Harris is self-funding the company while raising private money for expansion and has a contract manufacturer ready for his first orders.

“As we enter the final stages of production, we are energized by the demand we’ve already seen from outdoor enthusiasts and retailers,” Harris said. “The Air Force’s work is incredible, and we’re confident it will be an enormous benefit for people all over the world.”