ISRAEL- Remilk, an Israeli cultivated dairy startup, is set to expand production of its animal-free protein following a successful series B funding round where it raised US$120 million.
The funding round was led by Hanaco Ventures and participated in by Precision Capital, Rage Capital, CPT Capital, Intercap, OurCrowd, Indorama Ventures, and Tal Ventures, among others.
Remilk uses a yeast-based fermentation process to produce animal-free milk proteins that are said to be indistinguishable in taste and function from cow’s milk proteins.
With the new funds, it hopes to scale the production of its lactose and cholesterol-free protein for commercial use by manufacturers in products such as cheese and ice cream.
The company also estimates that its process uses 1% of the land, 4% of the greenhouse gas emissions, and 5% of the water required to produce comparable products through traditional dairy manufacturing processes.
“Not only are Remilk products cleaner and significantly more sustainable when compared to traditional dairy, but they are indistinguishable in taste, feel and texture,” said Pasha Romanovski, founding partner of Hanaco Ventures.
He added: “We have a strong conviction in the founders’ vision and are thrilled to support the talented team on their journey”.
The company plans to have products featuring Remilk in the marketplace later this year.
This would be timely as there is demand for alternative dairy products by companies seeking to woo consumers who are moving away from animal proteins.
“By 2035, every tenth portion of meat, eggs, and dairy eaten around the globe is very likely to be alternative,” says a new report from Boston Consulting Group and Blue Horizon Corporation.
The report further predicts that alternative proteins could account for 11% ($290bn) of the market by 2035 vs 2% in 2020.
And this is a pretty conservative scenario, they argue: “It could be much more, if all four of the dominoes now lined up were to tip over.
Aviv Wolff, CEO and co-founder at Remilk, said: “This funding propels us on our journey to transform the dairy category into one that delivers delicious, nutritious products without harm to people, planet or animals”.
“Already, we are engaging with dozens of companies, including some of the world’s most popular brands, to recreate the future of dairy together.”
In 2020, Remilk announced that it had secured US$11.3 million in an oversubscribed funding round led by Fresh.fund.
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