Food tech company ENOUGH announces that it has extended its partnership with agribusiness giant Cargill. Through the deal, Cargill is to sign a commercial agreement to use and market ENOUGH’S mycoprotein ingredient ABUNDA and to invest in its recent Series C round.
ABUNDA is described as a highly versatile ingredient that provides all nine essential amino acids and dietary fiber. It is said to have a neutral taste, making it highly versatile in multiple applications.
“The alternative protein market is a multi-billion-dollar opportunity”
ENOUGH leverages biomass fermentation to produce its signature product at a large scale. The protein is grown by feeding fungi renewable feedstocks to make a sustainable food protein source.
Upscaling in Europe
ENOUGH states that its collaboration with Cargill, “benefiting from its global footprint and feedstock technology expertise,” will allow it to scale more quickly in Europe and beyond.
ENOUGH’s massive production facility (15,000 square meters) is co-located alongside a Cargill facility in Sas van Gent, the Netherlands; Cargill provides the tech food company with an efficient glucose syrup, supporting the zero-waste advantages of ABUNDA.
The firm’s protein factory has an initial capacity to grow 10,000 tonnes annually, witha doubled capacity set for 2025. The company targets producing over a million tonnes cumulatively by 2033. Located in Scotland, England, and the Netherlands, the company boasts a diverse team of 65 individuals representing 15 nationalities working to make ABUNDA the most abundant protein.
Jim Laird, co-founder and CEO of ENOUGH, comments: “The alternative protein market is a multi-billion-dollar opportunity, and efficiency will come from collaboration with partners such as Cargill to leverage existing demand and supply chain to gain scale.”
The world needs sustainable proteins
With the expanded strategic partnership, Cargill will co-create products with ABUNDA while leveraging its portfolio of plant-based proteins, texturizers, and fats and its formulations and applications capabilities.
The corporation, one of the biggest meat producers in the US, has been expanding into the alternative protein sector, aiming to become a significant player in the industry.
First, it launched in 2020 an alternative meat range featuring hamburgers and ground meat. Later, it created a plant-based range called PlantEver for the Chinese market. The meat giant has also invested in companies such as pea protein producer PURIS, the cultivated meat company Aleph Farms, and the Spanish plant-based fat producer Cubiq Foods.
Belgin Kose, Managing Director of Cargill Meat and Dairy Alternatives, shares: “Cargill is strengthening its partnership with ENOUGH because the world needs more protein that is grown more sustainably to keep pace with global population growth. Mycoprotein is an emerging ingredient with a disruptive role to play due to its many benefits including a meat-like texture, protein profile, scalability and sustainability.”
With its Plenitude project, Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) supported the construction of ENOUGH’s plant with €16.9M from European funds to advance competitive bio-based industries.
