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Paulo Teixeira © Melt&Marble

Melt&Marble Strengthens Leadership to Scale Precision-Fermented Fat Production

March 27, 2025

Melt&Marble, a company specializing in precision-fermented fats, has announced two significant additions to its leadership team as it prepares for large-scale commercial production. Tue Hodal, a veteran of industrial biotech and pharma, has joined the company as its first Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Paulo Teixeira, previously the Chief Innovation Officer at Mycorena, has been appointed as the company’s new Product Manager. Focus on bioprocess optimization Hodal brings over 25 years of experience in operational expansion, particularly in the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors. His past roles include high-level positions at major firms such as Chr. Hansen, Novo Nordisk, and Lundbeck. Most recently, he served as CTO at Bacthera, a company focused on bacterial biotherapeutics. At Melt&Marble, Hodal will oversee the optimization of bioprocesses and downstream operations …

Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Hoxton Farms and Sumitomo Target Asia’s Health Crisis with Cultivated Pork Fat

March 27, 2025

Hoxton Farms and Sumitomo Corporation have formed a strategic partnership to bring Hoxton Fat, a cultivated pork fat, to the Asia-Pacific market. This collaboration will focus on addressing public health and food security challenges in the region through innovative food ingredients. The partnership with Sumitomo Corporation will leverage the latter’s expertise in agri-food and supply chain management to facilitate the introduction of Hoxton Fat to food manufacturers across Asia. The two companies will also work closely with food safety regulators, including the Japan Association for Cellular Agriculture (JACA), to ensure the ingredient meets regulatory standards prior to commercialization. Max Jamilly, CEO of Hoxton Farms, commented on the partnership: “Sumitomo’s established network and expertise are key to bringing our cultivated fat to Asia, where we see …

Approvals

Mission Barns Receives FDA Approval for Cultivated Pork Fat, Announces Restaurant & Retail Launches

March 10, 2025

Cultivated meat company Mission Barns has received a “No Questions” letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is said to make the company the first in the world to receive regulatory clearance for cultivated pork fat. The letter indicates that the FDA has completed a rigorous evaluation of Mission Barns’ safety assessment for its cultivated fat, and is satisfied that the product is “as safe as comparable foods”. Following the regulatory approval, Mission Barns has announced that Fiorella, a leading Italian restaurant group in the San Francisco area, will begin using the company’s cultivated bacon and meatballs. Sprouts Farmers Market will also stock Mission Barns’ products, becoming the first US grocery store to sell cultivated meat. The two chains will reportedly be …

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Fermentation

Melt&Marble Partners With Valio to Develop Plant-Based Foods Containing Fermented Fats

January 30, 2025

Melt&Marble, a Swedish startup producing fat ingredients using precision fermentation, has partnered with major Finnish food company Valio to develop plant-based foods made with fermented fats. The long-term research collaboration will involve studying the properties of new types of fat produced by Melt&Marble, before commercializing plant-based foods containing the fats. These should have improved mouthfeel, structure, and succulence compared to existing plant-based alternatives. The fermented fats will need to gain novel foods approval to be sold on the European market, meaning it will take several years for the products to arrive on supermarket shelves. In the US, Melt&Marble’s products will undergo the FDA’s Generally Recognized as Safe notification process, which should allow for faster approval. Consequently, commercialization may begin in the US by the end …

Approvals

Mosa Meat Requests First EU Market Authorisation for Cultivated Fat

January 22, 2025January 22, 2025

Netherlands-based cultivated beef producer Mosa Meat has submitted its first request for Novel Foods market approval in the EU, seeking authorisation for its cultivated fat ingredient. The fat is designed to be blended with plant-based ingredients to create beef-style products such as hamburgers, meatballs, and bolognese. Following the regulatory submission, the cultivated fat will be evaluated by The European Commission (EC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The submission is an important step towards introducing cultivated meat products to the European market; EU laws do not allow cultivated products to be assessed as a whole, but instead require cultivated ingredients to be submitted individually. This is only the second time a cultivated product has entered the EU’s Novel Foods process — the first was …

Studies & Numbers

Researchers Study Protein-Fat Interactions to Enhance Plant-Based Cheese Texture and Functionality

January 16, 2025

Scientists at the University of Guelph in Ontario and Canadian Light Source Inc. in Saskatchewan have conducted a study examining how plant-based proteins interact with fat matrices in cheese analogs. Published in Physics of Fluids by AIP Publishing, the research explores strategies to improve the texture, functionality, and nutritional profile of plant-based cheese alternatives. The study focuses on addressing challenges in replicating the sensory properties of traditional dairy cheese, such as creaminess, meltability, and stretchability, which remain key hurdles for plant-based cheese manufacturers. Researchers studied isolates from three plant-based proteins—pea protein, faba bean protein, and lentil protein—to understand their functionality when combined with different fat blends in cheese analogs. The physical properties of the cheese alternatives were analyzed, including melting, stretching, oil loss, and hardness. …

Products & Launches

Oatly UK Introduces Lower-Fat ‘Barista Lighter Taste’, Targeting Trend for Lighter Roasted Coffee

October 31, 2024

Oatly UK has expanded its popular Barista oat milk range with a new variety designed for coffee lovers, Barista Lighter Taste. The product contains a lower fat level than Oatly’s original Barista Edition oat milk (2.1% instead of 3%) and is a response to the increasing popularity of lighter-roasted coffee. It has been designed to allow more subtle flavour notes to shine through while retaining the same performance capabilities as the original Barista edition, including frothing and foaming. The new milk alternative was originally trialled at a select number of coffee outlets earlier this year to gain feedback from baristas across Europe. It has now officially launched for retail in the UK, with a new name and updated packaging. Barista strategy The new launch comes …

MicroLub, a deep-tech spinout from the University of Leeds that produces a fat replacement for lower-calorie yet delicious plant-based foods, has announced that it has successfully closed a £3.5 million seed investment round led by Northern Gritstone.

Image courtesy of MicroLub

Investments & Finance

MicroLub Secures £3.5M to Commercialise Fat Replacement Tech for Low-Calorie Yet Delicious Plant-Based Foods

October 21, 2024October 21, 2024

MicroLub, a deep-tech spinoff from the University of Leeds that produces a fat replacement for lower-calorie plant-based foods, has announced that it has successfully closed a £3.5 million seed investment round led by Northern Gritstone. Praetura Ventures and LIFTT also participated. Known as advanced protein technology, MicroLub’s innovation aims to address the demand for healthier products, as millions of people worldwide are at risk of becoming overweight or living with obesity. It also fuels interest in sustainable food options by helping plant-based foods become tastier, less astringent, and healthier. The new capital will support the technology scaling, product development in collaboration with partners, and team expansion. CEO David Peters (former head of Oatly UK) shares, “Our advanced protein technology is a real game-changer when it …

Image courtesy of Melt&Marble

Fermentation

Fermented Fats Designer Melt&Marble Achieves 10,000-Liter Production Milestone

September 10, 2024September 9, 2024

Precision fermentation startup Melt&Marble has achieved a milestone in biomanufacturing with the demo-scale production of over ten thousand liters of fermentation for fats. According to the Swedish startup, the target bioprocess performance was maintained throughout the scale-up, achieving a 10-fold increase in bioreactor volume while sustaining comparable strain and performance metrics. This achievement builds on a previous bioreactor trial and demonstrates the platform’s scalability and robustness, explains Melt&Marble. CEO Anastasia Krivoruchko shares, “Scale-up of fermentation processes can be tricky, and we’re extremely proud of what our scientific team has managed to achieve in such a short amount of time.” Better alternatives for tasty food The large amount of fat produced from this demo will enable the company to conduct application pilots to fine-tune the fat’s use …

Report analyses health and sustainability of plant-based meat alternative categories

Meat- and Fish Alternatives

Report: All Plant-Based Meat Alternative Categories Have Lower Emissions, Less Saturated Fat & More Fibre Than Meat

September 2, 2024

A new report by The Food Foundation has analysed the environmental and health benefits of a variety of plant-based meat alternatives. The products are divided into three categories — new-generation meat alternatives such as Beyond Meat and Quorn, traditional meat alternatives like tofu and tempeh, and whole plant foods such as beans and grains. The results indicate that all three categories generate significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions than meat and have a much lower water footprint. On average, they also contain fewer calories, lower levels of saturated fat, and more fibre. Overall, the whole food category was found to be the healthiest and most sustainable, with the highest fibre content and the lowest amounts of saturated fat, calories, and salt. These products are also more …

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Ingredients

Why Fat is Key in Plant-Based Products

September 2, 2024

Back in April of this year, Cultimate raised a substantial 2.3 million euros in seed funding. Four months later, the cultivated fat brand is well on its way to becoming a significant player in the alternative protein industry. In its latest New Food Hub interview, ProVeg International sat down with Cultimate’s co-founder and CEO, George Zhelezyni, to learn more about the potential of cultivated fat. Not only does Zhelezyni share expert insights about the innovative cultivated fat market, but he also gives some honest advice for founders and start-ups looking to thrive in the alternative protein space. The low-down on fat In today’s market for plant-based foods, it’s meat-eaters that need unlocking. According to Zhelezyni, fat will be the key ingredient to achieving this. “We’ve …

Fungi, Mushrooms & Mycelium

Optimized Foods Leverages Mycelium Technology to Advance Cultivated Caviar and Plant-Based Fats

August 26, 2024August 21, 2024

California-based Optimized Foods, a food technology company specializing in mycelium-based products, is leveraging its proprietary MycoCarrier™ platform to create sustainable and nutritious alternatives to conventionally animal-based foods. The company’s innovations include Cultivated Caviar, a fish-free substitute for traditional caviar, produced through advanced biomanufacturing techniques. Mycelium, the root structure of fungi, is at the core of Optimized Foods’ approach. The MycoCarrier™ platform uses spherical mycelium to convert agricultural byproducts into high-value food products. This process aims to enhance the taste, texture, and nutritional value of these products while also addressing significant challenges in the food industry, such as the need for sustainable fat replacements and nutrient bioavailability. Fish-free caviar One of the company’s inaugural products is branded as Cultivated Caviar. Traditionally, caviar is harvested from wild …

Three cubes of animal-free fats on a wooden board-

Image courtesy of Melt&Marble

Company News

Melt&Marble Lands €2.76M in EU Grants for Market Launch of “Designer” Fats in 2025

July 29, 2024

Sweden’s Melt&Marble has been selected as one of 68 European deep tech startups chosen from 969 applicants to receive a €2.5 million grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator. The company also announces that it has secured an additional €260,000 grant from the Horizon Europe Framework Programme. Melt&Marble uses precision fermentation and microbial engineering to create sustainable and resource-efficient alternatives to animal fats, cocoa butter, palm oil, and other agriculturally derived lipids. With the new funding, the female-led company will reduce production costs and accelerate the pre-commercialization of its first products: MeatyMarble and DairyMarble. Co-founder & CEO Anastasia Krivoruchko shares, “The EU’s commitment to supporting innovative food production technologies is truly encouraging. This funding will help bring us a step closer to offering delicious and …

@ Crespel & Deiters Group

Ingredients

Loryma Unveils New Plant-Based Fat Solutions for Juicy Meat Analogs with Low-Calorie Bonus

July 23, 2024

Plant-based fats often differ from their animal counterparts in behavior during production and preparation, presenting challenges for manufacturers. To address this problem, German ingredients specialist Loryma has developed three wheat-based specific solutions — “all with a low-calorie content” — for fat reproduction that provide both processing and nutritional benefits, including reducing fat content in meat analogs while mimicking texture. These new solutions cater to specific fat applications and product requirements in meat analogs, including tender melts, firm sliceable textures, and visually appealing “visible fat” content. Norbert Klein, Head of Research and Development at Loryma, comments, “Our compounds and blends offer advantages not only in terms of product quality and nutritional value but also for the efficient and targeted creation of new trend products.” Clean label & low-calorie …

Interviews

Cultimate Foods: “Cultured Fat Can Immensely Improve the Quality and Flavour Experience of a Meat Alternative”

July 23, 2024

Founded in 2022, the Berlin startup Cultimate Foods specialises in the cultivation of animal fat. As an ingredient, the fat is intended to give plant-based meat products an authentic meat flavour and texture. The result is a hybrid product, i.e. a combination of plant-based protein and cell-based ingredients. At the end of April 2024, the company received from leading biotech and foodtech investors. Eugenia Sagué, co-founder and MD, and Senior Scientist Dr Marline Kirsch explain why the company decided to cultivate fat cells, which nutrient solution is used for this and what the biggest challenges currently are for the startup. Cultimate Foods focuses on hybrid products in which plant-based products are combined with cultured animal cells. Why are you focussing on this hybrid form …

Science

GFI Supports Research into Realistic Fat Marbling in Whole Cut Plant-Based Meats

July 18, 2024

One of the challenges in producing realistic-looking and flavourful plant-based meat is mimicking the marbling effect of animal fat that many meat lovers expect. A food scientist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is developing a new technology to do just that, supported by a $250,000 grant from the Good Food Institute. The technology proposed by Lutz Grossmann, an assistant professor, “has the potential to revolutionise the plant-based meat industry, expand its product offerings and appeal to a broader audience,” the institute said on announcement of the grant, which is one of 118 awarded by the GFI since 2019 in 21 countries totalling more than $21 million to date. “The Good Food Institute has played a key role in supporting research for more sustainable food …

Health

Study Finds Switching From Animal Fats to Plant-based Fats Reduces Risk of Disease

July 17, 2024

Switching from a diet high in saturated animal fats to a diet rich in plant-based unsaturated fats influences the fat composition in the blood. This in turn influences the long-term risk of disease, finds a recent study. The study, published in Nature Medicine, conducted by a team of researchers from the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE), Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden and several other universities, shows that it is possible to accurately measure diet-related fat changes in the blood. These can then be directly linked to the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. “Our study confirms with even greater certainty than before the health benefits of a diet with a high proportion of unsaturated vegetable fats, such as those …

Fatima Zoundri, image supplied

Opinion

Op Ed: Fatima Zoundri of dsm-firmenich, Upcycled Ingredients Will Play a Crucial Role in Shaping a Sustainable Future

July 11, 2024

dsm-firmenich, created through a 2022 merger of DSM and Firmenich, offers nutrition, health, and beauty solutions. Director of Sustainability, Taste, Texture and Health, Fatima Zoundri, believes that the protein transition is a great thing for society, and says the challenge for manufacturers is to create products with the right sensory qualities and are produced as sustainably as possible. A key way to achieve this is via upcycled ingredients. “I received my very own ‘wake-up call’ several years ago having worked a decade in operations at dsm-firmenich. One morning I literally woke up and realized that as one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies, we are in a unique position to turn this negative story into a positive – and change the way our society produces, …

Health

New Study Shows Low-Fat Vegan Diet Offers Hope for Type 1 Diabetes Patients

April 26, 2024April 26, 2024

A study published in Clinical Diabetes has found that a low-fat vegan diet may offer new hope for adults with type 1 diabetes. The study, by Hana Kahleova, Director of Clinical Research for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in the USA, found that adults who followed a low-fat vegan diet for 12 weeks experienced improved insulin sensitivity and a reduction in total daily insulin needs. The research was conducted with 58 adults diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. The participants were randomly assigned to one of two dietary groups: a low-fat vegan diet without carbohydrate restrictions or a portion-controlled carbohydrate diet. Participants in the vegan diet group were encouraged to eat vegetables, legumes, and fruits. In contrast, those in the portion-controlled diet group followed individualized eating …

Cultimate Foods showcased its CultiFat at a tasted event held at ProVeg Incubator in Germany

Cultivated Meat

Cultimate Foods Secures €2.3M to “Deliver the Meaty Flavors Consumers Crave” Via Cultivated Fats

April 24, 2024

Despite the difficult fundraising environment, German startup Cultimate Foods, a B2B cultivated fat supplier for the alt protein industry, has secured €2.3 million in seed funding to scale the production of its functional ingredient, CultiFat, and expand its operations and commercial collaborations. High-Tech Gründerfonds, one of Europe’s leading seed investors, led the round, which also included participation from the Life Science Valley Wachstumsfonds, b.value AG, and Kale United. Food tech investor Big Idea Ventures also joined the round. Made from beef and pork fat cells using cell ag technology, CultiFat contains the essential fatty acids responsible for the distinctive flavor and aroma of meat. According to Cultimate Foods, its fat is a game-changing ingredient that elevates the taste and texture of plant-based meat. The German startup has developed two …

The vegconomist-newsletterinformation for decision-makers

The vegconomist-newsletter
information for decision-makers