Animal-derived products have that familiar taste and texture, and replicating them with plant-based alternatives has been a challenge for some companies.
Dairy, in particular, is an area where you have to get that “creamy” texture but without the actual cream. Cultivated biosciencesA Swiss food biotech startup says it has solved this problem with the development of its yeast cream, derived from a specific type of oleaginous yeast, which mimics the texture and mouthfeel of traditional cream.
In 2022, the company raised a $1.5 million pre-seed round. At that time, he had developed the high-fat ingredient with the texture and stability of dairy-free products, which also replaces additives and maintains flavor.
The company’s technology involves the fermentation of yeast biomass. Unlike precision fermentation which attempts to replicate proteins at a molecular level, biomass fermentation uses the high protein content and rapid growth of microorganisms to produce protein-rich foods. This method is also non-GMO and easier to scale, said Lucie Rein, chief commercial officer at Cultivated Biosciences. Rein joined the company in March 2023.
Rein explained that yeast cream contains fats, proteins and fibers, all from yeast, and features a “microstructure” of yeast lipid droplets that resemble the fat droplets in milk. Cultivated Biosciences is designing its final product to be included in consumer products, such as coffee creamers, milk and ice cream.
The company went public in December with its first proof-of-concept coffee creamer, which Rein said is quite difficult to do well. This is because when adding cream to coffee, it must maintain the creamy consistency, flavor and color.
“It’s extremely difficult to replicate something that is stable in coffee because coffee is very hot and very acidic,” Rein told TechCrunch. “When you pour it into your coffee, it has to remain completely stable. So that’s what we did, and this was a turning point for us. We also replace the bleaching agents, so we replace everything and stay stable.”
Over the past year, Cultivated Biosciences has been working on the expansion. In 2022 it produced between 5 and 10 liters of its cream. Today it is 1,500 liters, with the potential to reach 80,000 liters with its production partners, Rein said.
Dairy products continue to attract the attention of entrepreneurs and investors. In January, perfect day raised pre-series E financing round of up to 90 million dollars. It uses precision fermentation, just like Best dairy and New culture, to make their dairy proteins. In February, Miruku kept 5 million dollars for its plant-based dairy products. There’s also Brown foodswhich is developing “cow-free” milk grown with cells in a laboratory.
Cultivated Biosciences joins them, having recently raised another $5 million. Navus Ventures led the investment round and was joined by Founderful (formerly known as Wingman Ventures), HackCapital and Lukas Böni, the founder of Planted. The round also introduced new investors, including Joyful VC, Mandi Ventures and Zürcher Kantonalbank.
The company is now in talks with food service companies with the goal of bringing its product to market in 2025 in the United States, pending approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Rein said.
“We are in the middle of testing with the industry’s large key accounts,” Rein said. “Once we have their sign of approval, we can also start reaching out to smaller local companies in the US. That we are already in contact with 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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