Imagindairy jumpstarts industrial cow-free milk protein plant amid hybrid dairy revolution

30 Jan 2024 --- Imagindairy, an Israeli food tech start-up crafting “authentic” dairy proteins without cows, has acquired industrial-scale precision fermentation production lines at a new facility. This advancement for bovine-free dairy comes as Japanese food researchers under DAIZ Engineering are teaming up to scale the new European Germination Food-Tech Center located in the Netherlands’ “Food Valley” to drive innovation for hybrid dairy solutions unlocking the nutritional “power of germination” in seeds.

“Our advanced technology — based on our proprietary AI platform, coupled with our manufacturing lines — puts Imagindairy in a position to offer animal-free products at cost parity to traditional dairy,” Dr. Eyal Afergan, Imagindairy co-founder and CEO, tells Food Ingredients First.

He adds that achieving cost parity has historically been challenging for the precision fermentation sector, but expresses confidence the start-up will soon hit industrial scale.

“The challenges have mainly been because of hurdles like production capacity bottlenecking and ensuring that unit economics make sense across the supply chain.”

Products crafted with precision using fermented ingredients and proteins appeals to dairy enthusiasts.At present, Imagindairy is already producing industrial-scale batches in the new facility at a competitive cost structure to traditional dairy. The new facility allows Imagindairy access to production at more than 100,000 liters of fermentation capacity, with planned capacity expansion to triple this volume in the next one to two years. 

“In a future supermarket aisle, I hope to see lots of shelves in the refrigerated section containing sustainably-made products that are nutritious and delicious for consumers,” says Dr. Afergan. 

“I see milk, cheese, yogurt and ice cream products made with precision fermented ingredients and proteins that cater to anyone who loves dairy yet makes thoughtful and sustainably conscious decisions in their daily lives.”

Competition in a new fermentation-forward market
Imagindairy considers fully owning and operating the production and manufacturing of its animal-free dairy protein a “big step forward,” allowing the company full control of the production process and the flexibility to scale up to support mass-market adoption as an industrial company.

Dr. Afergan tells us the start-up is already ahead of its “ambitious” commercial production scaleup schedule.

“Regarding competitors, we’re already seeing new start-ups in the space constantly emerge, and we expect this trend to continue, as we predict a rise in demand for precision fermentation dairy products.”

He concedes that limiting factors for new entrants would be the same challenges of producing high-quality protein while achieving quality and cost parity to traditional dairy at the same time.

US GRAS greenlight
Imagindairy’s new facility announcement comes on the heels of another major company milestone, as the start-up received a “no questions” response letter from the US Food & Drug Administration last month for the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) notice submitted by the company.

This signifies that the ingredient is safe to be used in food and beverage products, providing a regulatory green light for food and beverage manufacturers to partner with Imagindairy.

“Having just entered the landscape three years ago, this achievement is a big step forward for us,” says Dr. Afergan.

“Imagindairy is paving an entirely new future for the dairy industry, and these two great achievements demonstrate what that future will look like,” says Shmuel Chafets, founder and partner at Target Global, an investment firm that has backed Imagindairy since 2022.

“Imagindairy has an inherent culture of capital efficiency and achieving more with less,” adds Jonathan Berger, CEO of The Kitchen FoodTech Hub. “As the earliest supporter of the company, we know it has the right technology and the right team to disrupt the dairy industry.” 

Products made using Imagindairy’s animal-free dairy protein are expected to be launched in the US in the coming year. 

Dutch Food Valley’s new hybrid dairy center
In other alternative protein sector advancements, Japan’s DAIZ Engineering has established the European Germination Food-Tech Center in the Netherlands through collaboration with NIZO Food Research.

In the initial step of this collaboration, the Food-Tech Center is focusing on developing “hybrid dairy products” combining primarily animal-based dairy and plant-derived protein-based dairy alternatives. 

The new facility is located in the “Food Valley” of the Netherlands, in Wageningen, where global agricultural and food-technologies are centered. Over 1,500 food-related and chemical companies from various countries gather at this hub and collaborative efforts across different industries and partnerships among academia, industry and government are driving food tech development here.

DAIZ Engineering is a food-tech start-up company with a patented technology called “Ochiai Germination Method” that activates seeds using the power of germination to enhance functionality and nutritional value. 

Using proprietary technology to mimic the molecular profile of animal proteins in plant-based proteins, DAIZ Engineering has developed alternative eggs and alternative milk.Once the ingredient in dairy products receives regulatory approval,  green light can be given for using them in F&B manufacturing.

“The germination technology developed by DAIZ activates enzymes naturally present in seeds, like soybeans or yellow peas. During germination, these enzymes help the seed to grow into a plant, but also partially break down the compounds that are a cause of sensory challenges,” Rudy Simons, business development manager – Food & Protein at DAIZ, tells Food Ingredients First.

“By stopping the germination of the seed, a more neutral tasting protein ingredient can be created. The germination process also leads to a change in the amino acid profile, which leads to improved protein digestibility. Germinated ingredients have high potential because of their improved sensory properties, which can improve the palatability of plant-based foods and ensure a successful protein transition

Science of seeds
The newly-established European Germination Food-Tech Center at NIZO will germinate various seeds — beans, grains and nuts — using the Ochiai Germination Method and will evaluate the nutritional value and digestibility of the germinated seeds in collaboration with the experts at NIZO. 

Based on the acquired expertise in plant-based proteins, the new Food-Tech Center will develop new food ingredients which will be proposed to global food manufacturers. 

Simons adds that the potential of DAIZ’s germination technology has already been successfully demonstrated in Japan, where germinated soy-based hybrid meat and egg products were introduced at the country’s largest convenience store chain, 7-Eleven.

“The vision of this newly-established NIZO-DAIZ Engineering collaboration is to further optimize the technology and expand the success from Japan into Europe,” he comments. “Several parties have already shown keen interest in understanding the impact this technology can have on their ingredients and consumer end-products.”

There are a number of factors that affect the seeds’ germination process, such as temperature and oxygen levels. Simons adds that different raw materials, like soybeans, yellow peas or lentils, will respond differently to the germination conditions. 

“Varying conditions and raw materials can therefore result in a whole new range of ingredients. The functionality of these ingredients will determine their applicability in food products,” he notes. “Surely, their improved sensory profile and better digestibility will make them suitable for various product types.”

By Benjamin Ferrer