In a groundbreaking move poised to reshape the dairy industry, Australian startup Nourish Ingredients has announced a strategic collaboration with dairy titan Fonterra. This partnership aims to accelerate the development of dairy products that incorporate fats produced via fermentation, a method that promises to revolutionize the way dairy products are made and consumed.
Nourish Ingredients, co-founded by James Petrie and Ben Leita in early 2020, specializes in creating high-impact, low-inclusion ‘animalic’ fats using fermentation tanks. The startup has made significant strides in developing Creamilux, a lipid produced by a genetically engineered microbe. Creamilux is designed to mimic the rich, creamy mouthfeel, taste, and emulsification properties of traditional dairy fat, making it an ideal candidate for a wide range of dairy applications.
The collaboration with Fonterra will explore the potential of Creamilux as a key ingredient in traditional dairy products such as cheese, cream, and butter. The goal is to unlock new functionalities while preserving the delicious taste that consumers expect from dairy. Additionally, the partnership will investigate how Nourish Ingredients’ fats can enhance non-dairy categories like bakery products, which typically rely on dairy fats for texture and flavor.
James Petrie, CEO of Nourish Ingredients and a former research scientist at Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, emphasized the importance of this collaboration. “This collaboration balances our passion for creating innovative ingredients with hard-nosed applications to unlock massive product opportunities. We are overcoming specific animal ingredient bottlenecks to optimize current animal-based food production capacity without losing quality,” Petrie said.
Jeremy Hill, Chief Science and Technology Officer at Fonterra, echoed Petrie’s sentiments. “Dairy will always be at the core of our business. At the same time, ingredients produced through emerging technologies can work seamlessly in and alongside our dairy products, expanding the range of products and choices we can offer to customers and consumers,” Hill stated.
Nourish Ingredients is part of a burgeoning sector of startups leveraging microbial fermentation to produce specialized fats. The company joins the ranks of other innovators such as Yali Bio, Melt&Marble, ÄIO, c16 Bio, Circe, Seminal Bio, NoPalm Ingredients, Zero Acre Farms, and Clean Food Group. These companies are pioneering various methods to create tailored fats, including cell-cultured fat and plant oil structuring technologies.
Speaking at the recent SynBioBeta conference in San Jose, Petrie highlighted the economic viability of producing fats through fermentation, especially for high-impact, low-inclusion products. “There are some fats and oils in meat and dairy that are really signature that you associate with a well-cooked piece of meat or a dairy product. What we do at Nourish Ingredients is try and ignore all the boring fats which you could otherwise get from plants and focus on the really potent and important molecules we can deliver via fermentation,” he explained.
Nourish Ingredients operates its R&D out of Australia and has a pilot facility in Singapore, enabling the production of meaningful quantities for internal testing by partners. For commercial-scale production, the company has identified partners capable of handling the relatively low-volume fermentation required, thanks to the low inclusion rates of their ingredients.
Despite the promising advancements, Petrie acknowledged the challenges in the current market environment, particularly in the alternative protein space. “It is very challenging in the current environment, especially in the alternative protein space, which is getting absolutely hammered. And frankly, that might be appropriate because I think it was so overheated that it was probably unhealthy for the market. What we’re seeing now is a pullback, both on the investment but also on the way in which companies are spending and the approach that they’re taking towards being more collaborative with others, and I think that this is a healthy shift,” he noted.
Nourish Ingredients has raised approximately US$40 million to date, a testament to the growing interest and investment in innovative food technologies. The collaboration with Fonterra marks a significant milestone in the journey towards more sustainable and versatile food production systems.