DOWNERS GROVE, ILL. — Univar Solutions, a global chemical and ingredient distributor and provider of value-added services, has been selected as the preferred distributor for Axiom Foods, Inc. in the United States. The agreement includes Axiom Foods’ complete line of rice and pea proteins and other plant-based ingredients.

“Axiom Foods’' ability to innovate and deliver neutral, soluble and allergen-free solutions to meet consumer demand will ensure our long-term mutual success as Univar Solutions provides market intelligence data and analytics to predict trends and drive growth,” said Austin Nichols, director of food ingredients for Univar Solutions. “Working with Axiom Foods gives us the opportunity to collaborate with a leading innovator of rice and pea protein and bring consumers the products they are demanding.”

The partnership with Univar marks a milestone for Axiom in externally sourcing its plant protein distribution. Before this point, the company handled it internally. The agreement will allow Axiom access to the company’s large reach within the plant protein market, as Univar operates the industry’s largest private transportation fleet and North American sales force, Univar said.

Founded in 2005, Los Angeles-based Axiom Foods produces functional, nutritional and vegan ingredients in commercial quantities for the food, beverage, specialty food and nutraceutical industries. The company derives all its products using minimal and chemical-free processing. Axiom’s current plant-based product portfolio includes rice and pea proteins, rice and oat dairy alternatives, rice sugar and pea starch, which are used in nutritional beverages and bars, snacks, and meat analogues or extenders.

“Our unique functional options, patents, clinical studies, commercial quantities and strict quality standards differentiate ourselves from other competitors within the plant-based protein market,” said David Janow, chief executive officer of Axiom Foods. “Working with Univar Solutions will ensure that our products can be accessible to a larger customer base of food and beverage manufacturers who are looking for the ‘Intel Inside’ of plant proteins and asking for Oryzatein rice protein and Vegotein pea protein by name. Sustainable options are a must, and we have both a winning method and a winning team.”