The Finnish dairy company Valio has invested in the Swedish biotech firm Melt&Marble, which develops tailor-made fats using precision fermentation – a form of fermentation-based cellular agriculture.
Valio’s investment in Melt&Marble is part of a €7.3 million funding round intended to support the scale-up of production and the launch of the first products. Other investors include Industrifonden, Beiersdorf, Chalmers Ventures, Catalyze Capital and the EIC Fund, Valio said in a press release.
According to Valio, future food production will require a combination of animal-based, plant-based and cellular production to feed the world’s population. Earlier this year, the dairy company therefore entered a strategic partnership with Melt&Marble with the aim of developing the food systems of the future.
– Cellular agriculture opens entirely new possibilities for improving flavour and quality. To drive progress, collaboration between established players and start-ups is essential, says Harri Kallioinen, Senior Vice President for Research and Development at Valio.
Melt&Marble develops highly specialised fats that can replace, among others, palm oil, coconut fat and shea butter – raw materials often associated with sustainability challenges. By creating customised fats, the company can both address environmental issues and improve product quality. The collaboration between Valio and Melt&Marble aims to enhance the taste and nutritional value of Valio’s plant-based products.
– With this funding round, we are moving from research to commercialisation. We are now one step closer to producing more sustainable and better-performing ingredients, says Melt&Marble’s CEO, Anastasia Krivoruchko.
Before the fats can be brought to market, they must be approved as novel foods by EFSA. The first products are expected to reach shop shelves within the next few years.
Facts
Cellular agriculture comprises technologies that produce foods and ingredients from cultivated cells in laboratories or bioreactors, rather than through conventional farming.
In fermentation-based cellular agriculture (such as precision fermentation), microorganisms like yeast, bacteria or fungi are used to produce specific ingredients such as proteins or fats.
By Lene Mikkelsen Walsh
Photo: Melt&Marble
