Alpha Mos

Alpha MOS, founded in 1992 by Jean-Christophe Mifsud and headquartered in Toulouse, France, operates as a specialized manufacturer of sensory analysis solutions. Mifsud, who holds degrees in Chemical Engineering and an MBA, as well as a PhD in Neurochemistry from Princeton University, established the company to develop instruments that correlate with human senses. The firm pioneered the commercialization of electronic noses and became a publicly traded entity on the Paris stock exchange in 1998.

The company's business model revolves around the development, manufacturing, and sale of its analytical instruments, alongside providing associated services such as outsourced analysis, leasing, and technical support. Its primary clientele includes companies in the food, beverage, and packaging industries. With a global presence, Alpha MOS maintains offices in the United States and China, supported by a network of over 30 distributors. For the fiscal year ending in December 2023, the company reported revenue of €5.85 million.

Alpha MOS's product portfolio is designed to digitize the senses of smell, taste, and sight for industrial quality control. The HERACLES Neo acts as an electronic nose, utilizing fast gas chromatography to analyze and profile a product's aroma and detect off-odors. For taste analysis, the ASTREE electronic tongue assesses a liquid's overall taste profile, including basic tastes like sweet and bitter, as well as other gustatory components. The IRIS visual analyzer completes the suite by measuring the color and shape of products with a high-resolution camera under controlled lighting. These instruments are managed through a common software platform, AlphaSoft, which includes data processing and chemometrics tools to interpret the sensory data.

In a strategic move to enter the health and wellness sector, Alpha MOS owns BOYDSense, a subsidiary focused on creating miniature devices for consumer applications. BOYDSense is currently developing a non-invasive device to monitor glucose levels by analyzing biomarkers in a person's breath. This MedTech project, while still in the development phase and not yet generating sales, has secured significant funding to advance its clinical studies and work towards obtaining regulatory approvals for a potential market launch.

Keywords: sensory analysis, electronic nose, electronic tongue, electronic eye, gas chromatography, quality control, food analysis, beverage testing, packaging analysis, aroma profiling, taste analysis, visual inspection, Jean-Christophe Mifsud, AlphaSoft, HERACLES Neo, ASTREE, IRIS, chemometrics, volatile organic compounds, organoleptic testing, food safety, BOYDSense, non-invasive glucose monitoring, breath analysis, medtech, analytical instruments, flavor profiling, odor analysis, product quality, industrial analyzers