Animal-derived products have a familiar taste and texture, and replicating that with plant-based alternatives has been a challenge for some companies.
Dairy, in particular, is the area where you need to get that “creamy” texture but without the actual cream. Cultivated Biosciences, a Swiss biotech food startup, says it has solved this problem by developing a yeast cream, derived from a specific type of oleaginous yeast, that mimics the feel and texture of traditional cream.
In 2022, the company raised a pre-funding round of $1.5 million. At that time, it developed the high-fat ingredient with the texture and consistency of dairy-free, which also replaces additives and maintains the taste quality.
The company's technology involves fermentation of yeast biomass. Unlike microfermentation, which attempts to replicate proteins at the molecular level, biomass fermentation uses the high protein content and rapid growth of microorganisms to make protein-rich foods. This method is also non-GMO and easier to scale, said Lucy Wren, commercial director of Cultivated Biosciences. Ren joined the company in March 2023.
Wren explained that sourdough contains fats, proteins and fibers — all from yeast — and is characterized by a microstructure of yeast fat droplets that resemble milk fat droplets. Cultivated Biosciences designs its final product to go into consumer products, for example, such as coffee creamers, milk, and ice cream.
The company went public in December with its first proof-of-concept coffee creamer, which Ren said was difficult to get right. This is because when you add cream to coffee, it must maintain the creamy texture, taste and color.
“It's very difficult to replicate something that's stable in coffee because the coffee is so hot and so acidic,” Ren told TechCrunch. “When you pour it into your coffee, it should stay completely stable. That's what we did, and that was a game-changer for us. We also replaced the bleaching agents, so we've actually replaced everything, and it stays stable.”
Over the past year, Cultivated Biosciences has been expanding. In 2022, she was producing 5 or 10 liters of cream. Today, this number stands at 1,500 liters and could reach 80,000 liters with production partners, Ren said.
Dairy products continue to attract the attention of entrepreneurs and investors. In January, Perfect Day raised a pre-Series E funding round worth up to $90 million. Microfermentation, as with Better Dairy and New Culture, is used to make milk proteins. In February, Miroco received $5 million for its plant-based dairy products. There's also Brown Foods, which is developing a “cow-free” milk grown with cells in the lab.
They are joined by Cultivated Biosciences, having recently raised another $5 million. Navus Ventures led the investment round and was joined by Founderful (formerly Wingman Ventures), HackCapital, and Lucas Boni, founder of Planted. The round also introduced new investors, including Joyful VC, Mandi Ventures, and Zürcher Kantonalbank.
Ren said that the company is now in talks with food service companies with the aim of bringing its product to the market in 2025 in the United States, pending approval by the US Food and Drug Administration.
“We are in the midst of ongoing trials with large key accounts in the industry,” Ren said. “Once we get the approval mark, we can also start approaching smaller, local companies in the US. That we have already reached out to key accounts is a sign that our approach is interesting, and now, of course, they want to test the ingredients in several rounds of trials.
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