According to a pan-European survey funded by EU Smart Protein in 2023 and based on dietary changes fuelled by health, environmental and animal welfare concerns, half (51 %) of the European population are actively looking to reduce their dairy consumption.
What about Questions raisedFood technology strives to create a better option for the consumer, regardless of whether some plant-based options are already available.
Five startups believe their technology can solve the problem.
Faerm
Faerm, a Danish biotech startup specializing in fermented cheeses for vegans, has announced that it is now able to start scaling up production after receiving a €1.3 million cash injection from research foundation The BioInnovation Institute in May.
It combines traditional dairy cheese-making techniques with food science to create what the company claims is the next generation of vegan cheese.
Faerm does use soy milk in its production, but unlike many other plant-based product makers that use the ingredient, it claims to have found a way to use fermentation and maturation to coagulate it into a curd that more closely mimics the texture of soy milk than dairy cheese.
It has developed soy-free fresh mozzarella, cream cheese and brie. The company licenses its patented technology to third parties.
ImaginDairy
Israel-based ImaginDairy reached a milestone this year in commercializing its dairy protein products without animal-derived ingredients.
It uses precision fermentation, a proprietary AI platform and other technologies to produce animal-free proteins. The company says this will enable manufacturers to provide sustainable cow-free dairy and dairy products with the same nutritional value as dairy cow milk.
January is a time of rejoicing. He confirmed that he had FDA approvalThe letter is a “no questions asked letter” for whey protein. This tacit approval allows the ingredient to be added at a rate of 5 to 35 % to products such as milk, cheese, yogurt and cream in the United States. That same month, it was announced that it also has its own precision industrial fermentation lines, allowing it to sell its protein at the same price as dairy products.
Eyal Afergan, CEO and Co-Founder Tell FoodNavigator Europe by 2021He believes that precision fermentation will be the key to unlocking the dairy-free market because of its dual benefits, both functional and nutritional. It is difficult for people to change their eating habits, especially when they are used to certain foods. But when an alternative is available, with the same taste and texture but better aligned with their values, then it is easy.
NewMoo
Stealth mode is back after three years. NewMoo, an Israeli startupIn May, the FBI officially came out of the shadows.
This startup uses molecular farming, a technique used in the pharmaceutical industry since the 1980s. It expresses animal proteins in plants such as soy to create liquid casein bases that mimic the functionality of milk in cheese production.
The dairy industry considers caseins to be the holy grail of milk structures, as they make up 80% of its proteins. NewMoo claims that its caseins are suitable for making any type of dairy product, including cheese.
Daphna Miller, the company's co-founder and CEO, said: "Our animal-free liquid caseins have all the same functional characteristics as real milk proteins for traditional cheesemaking." "That's why it can be used as a milk replacement without the need for special equipment.
Senara
Start-up based in Germany Senara estimatesIt is the only startup in Europe working with cultured dairy. The company came out of stealth mode towards the end of the month. Founded in 2022, the company already has a large number of angel and venture capital investors, including PurpleOrange Ventures and Partners in Clime, unlike others. Companies working on cultured dairy products from cells of cows and other milk-producing animals do not directly select milk cells to meet their needs. The company says this selection process allows it to select the most effective cells. minimizing animal intervention.
Svenja Danewitz, CEO of FoodNavigator Europe, told FoodNavigator Europe in December that using cell secretion to produce the final product is “more cost-effective than cultured meat,” in December. Secretion Technologies told FoodNavigator Europe in December that the technology allows them to capture the animal milk market at a mass level.
Standing Ovation
Standing Ovation, a Parisian start-up founded in 2020, has also created a patent-pending process for creating non-animal caseins through precision fermentation.
In fermentation chambers similar to those in a brewery, the company creates microbes that produce proteins and feeds them with sugars from plants. Then it collects and purifies the proteins. The company then combines them with mineral or plant ingredients (sugars and non-lactose fats) to produce a cheese-like product.
Standing Ovation says its technology is unique because it maximizes upstream production tools and reduces downtime of equipment and crew members, thereby speeding up production and reducing costs.
The company received 2 million euros in January from the French government as part of the call for projects aimed at improving the resilience of the French agri-food industry, which is part of the France 2030 Investment Plan.
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