Future of milk: Singapore start-up TurtleTree expands to US to leverage food tech growth

27 Apr 2021 --- TurtleTree, a biotech company using mammalian cells to produce sustainable milk, is launching an R&D headquarters in Davis, California, in a strategic move that is part of an expansion strategy for the alt-milk pioneers.

Speaking to FoodIngredientsFirst, TurtleTree CEO and co-founder Fengru Lin says setting up R&D operations in California is significant as North America is the largest global market in alternative proteins, Lin also explains that Davis is a food tech hub and global leader in bovine and human milk research.

“While currently headquartered in Singapore, TurtleTree understands the importance of having a sizable presence in the US from a business, manufacturing and R&D perspective. The R&D HQ is the first step in TurleTree’s US expansion strategy. Being in Davis places TurtleTree closer to the bovine and human milk research being conducted and enables access to the best global talent in this field,” she elaborates.

TurtleTree CEO and co-founder Fengru Lin and Max Rye, chief strategist and co-founder.What can we expect?
TurtleTree will use the R&D center as an opportunity to work closely with commercial partners in North America to co-develop, test and commercialize early prototypes.

The new R&D headquarters also aims to employ dozens of “world-class” researchers and scientists to “create the future of sustainable food.”

It will also accommodate clinical trials to study the effects of TurtleTree’s functional human milk ingredients obtained from novel methods on both infants and adults alike. 

“We will have downstream processing solutions to help achieve better product recovery for these functional human milk ingredients,” she says. 

Reinventing food systems 
Lin describes how TurtleTree – which was established in 2019 – is creating a new category that unlocks access to the naturally-occurring ingredients found in breast milk for application in infant, adult and specialized nutrition. 

The company is also eyeing a move into the bovine milk market further down the line. 

“These include human lactoferrin, human alpha-lactalbumin and a range of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs). As human milk is, by nature, more compatible for consumption for humans compared to bovine milk, we’re focused on these highly-valued ingredients that provide functional and physiological benefits to humans,” she continues. 

“This strategy eventually will not place us in a competing position with companies like Perfect Day or New Culture. Perfect Day and New Culture are focused on bovine milk products that are a commodity.”

“To reach a commercially viable price point is a big challenge for them. As we focus on the highly functional ingredients found in breast milk at the start, we can hit high-value products in our early years. As we continue to scale up production and scale down costs, we will then target the bovine milk market in two to three years’ time.”

Building a strong ecosystem 
As part of the move to Davis, the company is enrolled in UC Davis’ START program, which provides training and resources to equip UC Davis-associated entrepreneurs with the tools they need to form and grow successful companies.

And with significant expertise in human milk bioactives and functional ingredients, TurtleTree can leverage the most cutting-edge research to drive its innovation.

“Through co-development and the commercialization of its early prototypes, TurtleTree aims to create good-paying jobs and a talent pool around food production using novel technologies,” Lin continues.

“In turn, TurtleTree hopes that this will directly contribute to the development of more sustainable food systems. TurtleTree will also share and help implement best practices from an innovation hub like Singapore,” she outlines. 

TurtleTree’s processTurtleTree is creating a new category that unlocks access to the naturally-occurring ingredients found in breast milk for application in infant, adult and specialized nutrition.
TurtleTree focuses on the most optimal source of healthy and productive mammary cells and performs a one-time extraction of these cells. 

Once extracted, they analyze and choose the most viable cells. Cells need to be fed and nourished, and TurtleTree provides the cells with its proprietary blend of essential micronutrients to allow for them to flourish.

Then they need to be scaled up. An external environment is created that mimics the natural one found inside mammals. The company’s system then induces the cells to convert the essential micronutrients into milk. 

The milk harvested can be further purified and used in many different products.

Making cellular agriculture a reality 
Just last month, an arm of TurtleTree Labs, TurtleTree Scientific (TTS), signed a letter of intent to collaborate with cell culture media brand JSBiosciences to develop cost-effective cell culture media – starting with human milk. 

For TTS customers, this means having access to nutrient-supporting media solutions at the price point necessary to make cellular agriculture a reality for mass production.

TTS is also partnering with Dyadic International to develop recombinant protein growth factors to make cellular agriculture more commercially viable.

Last December, the company also scored US$6.2 million in an oversubscribed pre-series-A funding round from new and existing global investors. The funding will accelerate its research efforts into functional, bioactive proteins and complex sugars found in milk.

By Gaynor Selby