Precision fermentation continues it’s exponential advances in the Dairy industry. As part of my TECHXponential™ roadmap to the future of food Synthetic Biology technology will continue to revolutionise the food industry and beyond. In the dairy sector we now have Bel Group investing in Standing Ovation to utilise their animal free casein product. “As part of the collaboration, Standing Ovation will bring its ability to produce casein by fermentation and Bel will bring its cheese-making expertise and ability to integrate innovation into its products and processes, the companies explained.”
Collaboration with large established players in a startups target industry is one of my key indicators for long term success. Large players like Bel, with some USD3.4 bn turnover, have all the things that startups rarely have; expertise in manufacturing, procurement, distribution, sales & marketing etc.
It’s also another demonstration that technologically sophisticated companies in the dairy space see promise in precision fermentation technology. Whether price parity can be achieved is an obvious question as well as how these products can be integrated into cheese manufacturing processes. The next 3 – 5 years should see these questions answered.
The big question though, is how much longer will we need a cow to make cheese?
