How is the US animal-free dairy protein market shaping up?
Danish company 21st.BIO has become the latest company to have achieved a self-affirmed GRAS status for its beta-lactoglobulin (BLG) ingredient, bringing another precision fermentation-derived, animal-free whey protein ingredient to the US market.
The company – which part-licenses its fermentation technology from Novonesis – says the ingredient is ‘highly nutritious’ and can be used in the food industry as well as the medical, adult and sports nutrition space.
In the US, it will be available under license to manufacturers who wish to scale-up its production. It’s the first food protein that the Denmark and California-based firm is making available through its development program, which includes supporting protein producers in taking their products to market, from upscaling production to achieving regulatory approval.
But is there enough new product development activity to justify the level of supply that the US market is seeing from protein producers?
Animal-free dairy protein: busted flush or nutritional powerhouse?
The US is the largest global market where regulators deem fermentation-derived proteins safe for human consumption, paving the whey for food innovations such as cow-free ice cream and other dairy alternatives with improved functionality compared to plant-based products. In the nutrition sector, manufacturers are also betting on cow-free ingredients, including for innovations such as hybrid protein powder.
Besides 21st.BIO, Perfect Day, Vivici, Remilk, and ImaginDairy are the other players that have obtained a self-affirmed GRAS status for BLG derived through precision fermentation, making the US fermentation-derived protein market a relatively crowded space given its niche status in the overall dairy alternatives industry.
Elsewhere, New Culture’s cow-free casein has been used to create vegan mozzarella, which has in turn featured on the menu of chef Nancy Silverton’s Pizzeria Mozza. And TurtleTree, which makes GRAS-certified animal-free lactoferrin, recently partnered with nutrition company Strive to launch an immunity-boosting beverage aimed at the adult nutrition and ready-to-mix protein powder market.
In the consumer food space, however, a mixed picture.
In 2023, Perfect Day told AgFunderNews it would sell its consumer products arm The Urgent Company in order to focus on B2B; the company has since made leadership changes and partnered with ice cream maker Breyers, a Unilever company, to manufacture cow-free dairy ice cream. But Unilever has since announced it would spin-off its entire ice cream division as part of a cost-cutting productivity plan, leaving the fate of its brands hanging in the balance.
General Mills also chose to shut down its animal-free cream cheese brand Bold Cultr – weeks before a planned expansion into retail. Nestlé too briefly explored cow-free dairy in a partnership with Perfect Day.
At the same time, the likes of Strive’s FreeMilk and Bored Cow’s animal-free milk alternatives form part of the success stories within the category in US food retail.
R&D rumblings signal future NPD potential
Dairy heavyweights such as Danone, Leprino Foods Company and the Bel Group are working behind the scenes to leverage animal-free proteins and come up with superior dairy alternatives in their respective portfolios. Leprino’s partnership with Fooditive has made the mozzarella major the exclusive rightsholder for its fermentation-derived casein; and Danone wants to bring precision fermentation to the masses through a France-based project. The Bel Group is also working with numerous foodtech companies to develop functionally and nutritionally-superior cheeses.
All this suggests there's more to come from the animal-free dairy alternatives space.
