21st.Bio CEO touts precision fermentation for boosting dairy and protein development

09 Apr 2024 --- The global demand for proteins is projected to double by 2050, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. However, not all proteins are created equal, says bioproduction company 21st.Bio. Food Ingredients First speaks to the company following the launch of its platform for sustainable large-scale dairy protein production about the possibilities ahead for precision fermentation.

Co-founder and CEO Thomas Schmidt believes that doubling animal-derived production by 2050 would be a disaster. “Animal farming already uses half of the world’s harvest for feed and 77% of the world’s agricultural land. Animal products account for almost 60% of food-related greenhouse gas emissions.”

“Protein’s composition in amino acids affects nutrition and digestion, and for this reason, dairy or egg proteins are often regarded as the best nutritional options. Precision fermentation offers the best of both worlds: nutritious proteins produced sustainably and at an industrial scale.”

Schmidt says precision fermentation is a technology that can be used to produce virtually any food ingredient. “Beta-lactoglobulin and caseins for dairy products, ovalbumin for eggs, collagen, gelatin, meat or fish proteins, sweeteners and flavoring agents, or even vitamins can be produced with precision fermentation.”

Optimized processes
The development of each application takes years of R&D since microbial strains and production processes must be optimized for each ingredient. Still, the vast potential of this technology shouldn’t intimidate industrials with lengthy, costly and risky projects.

“This bottleneck is exactly what we are solving for,” flags Schmidt. “Per Falholt, CSO of 21st.Bio co-founded the company with the conviction that the industry needed a dedicated platform with the skills and resources to support innovators in getting to low-cost industrial precision fermentation.”

Co-founder and CEO Thomas Schmidt (left) and Per Falholt, CSO of 21st.Bio.21st.Bio has one clear goal: to make precision fermentation technology accessible to as many companies as possible so they can successfully take their product to market at a competitive price and ultimately get to real impact on global food systems. 

“And for this, we can count on the most advanced precision fermentation tech platform, designed for large-scale production. The technology foundation is in part licensed from Novonesis (formerly known as Novozymes), with 40 years of experience perfecting microbial strains for industrial production,” notes Schmidt. 

Companies shouldn’t have to reinvent the wheel for each and every project, he remarks. “They come to us with a need for one or several ingredients, we optimize our already high-performing production strains, the fermentation and downstream processes, and advise them on the industrial upscaling of their production.”

Schmidt believes this is the best way for technology to support and accelerate the transition to more sustainable and better nutrition globally. “Companies working with us are able to safely scale innovation into industrial production and meet global demand, utilizing our technology and expertise.”

“This unique offering helps our customers to save considerable time and resources,” Schmidt continues. “They can focus on the end-product development, large-scale production, and commercialization. We make products, not projects.”

Launchpad for F&B 
21st.Bio sees itself “as a launch pad for the food industry,” Schmidt underscores. 

“We have the experienced team, the high-performance production strains, resources, qualifications and equipment needed to take our customers from project to production upscaling. We continuously invest in optimizing our strains and processes to stay ahead of the competition.”

The company will soon be unveiling its pilot plant facility, where we can guide customers’ production upscaling, Schmidt tells us. 

“With key players in the field already working with our technology, we are excited to see their products on the market within the next few years,” he adds.

Precision fermentation paves the way 
Earlier this year, the company made its technology platform broadly available for the industrial-scale production of dairy proteins, namely beta-lactoglobulin and caseins.  21st.Bio wants to make precision fermentation technology accessible to as many companies as possible, paving the way for secure future food systems.

“Our technology can be optimized for each customer’s specific purpose, such as the nutritional fortification of a plant-based product, improvement of texture in alt-dairy and medical nutrition,” says Schmidt. 

The initiative received a lot of interest from start-ups and large ingredient manufacturers, who see precision fermentation as the most efficient production method for nutritious alternative proteins.

“The dairy industry itself is investigating precision fermentation as a possible new path for the production of high-quality nutrition, but limited environmental impact. The use of technology is the only way for the food and dairy industries to respond to the growing demand sustainably and secure future market shares,” shares Schmidt. 

Large ingredient firms and dairy companies recognize the pressure from end consumers and governments to offer more nutritious and sustainable products. 

“We see many firms pivoting,” he says, adding that “the switch won’t be immediate, but portfolios are slowly adjusting already.”

By Elizabeth Green