PHW Group, the largest poultry producer in Germany known for the Wiesenhof brand, will establish a new subsidiary later this year, focusing on traditional and precision fermentation to develop ingredients for alternative protein and blended products.
The firm, which has invested millions in its plant-based meat brand Green Legend, intends to integrate plant-based, cultivated, and fermentation technologies under its roof to position itself as a critical player in the sector.
“Fermentation is and will be an important tool for developing new and innovative food systems”
As part of this expanding strategy, the company launched an ingredients platform in 2023 and recently invested in the Dutch company Mosa Meat, which focuses on cultivated beef and fats.
“It is going to be a core technology”
Marcus Keitzer, Board Member for Alternative Proteins at the PHW Group, told Cultivated X, “Precision fermentation technology has been on our radar screen for quite a while as we believe that it is going to be a core technology within the alternative proteins segment. Consequently, we are going to set up our own platform this year, which will solely focus on fermentation and precision fermentation.”
In addition, PHW plans to expand into biomass fermentation to develop mycoprotein ingredients. “Our approach does not exclude that we are in contact with all major players on the subject of mycoproteins and that we are open to new partnerships,” he adds.
Confidence in the sector
According to Keitzer, “Fermentation is and will be an important tool for developing new and innovative food systems. It is part of our strategy to understand and evaluate new technologies.”
PHW Group’s Green Legend brand is available in major retailers like REWE and Edeka, though the company says that private label products currently have a higher market presence. From plant-based products alone, PHW’s alternative protein segment reportedly generated around 50 million euros in 2022/23, a significant increase from the previous year.
“The hard discount segment is currently driving the growth of the overall market—current growth of 10.3% YTD [Year To Date] May 2024. It is worth mentioning that the shift towards more private label products is another key driver in the market at the moment,” Keitzer said, adding, “We remain confident that the market in general will return to sustainable growth rates.”
Fermentation for clean labels
Even though alternative proteins still comprise a small fraction of its overall revenue, plant-based products are becoming increasingly crucial for PHW, which aims to tap into the growing trend of clean labels and healthy analogs.
To do so, Keitzer says that the company seeks to improve product recipes by reducing or eliminating chemicals and additives such as methylcellulose. “Our long-term goal is to produce food that is as natural as possible and does not contain chemical additives. To overcome this technological hurdle, we see precision fermentation and biotechnology as a major key and effective tool,” he explained.
Additionally, fermentation technologies will allow the company to develop blended (animal + plant-based) and hybrid (cell-based + plant-based) products.
The expansion of history
So far in 2024, we have seen an explosion of precision and biomass fermentation news, with startups and companies unveiling casein, ovalbumin, heme, fats, powdered microbial proteins, mycoproteins, alternatives to palm oil, and sugar. However, in Europe, these ingredients, considered novel foods, need pre-market regulatory approval before hitting the market, and consumer acceptance has not been widely researched.
“Fermentation has a long history in many food applications. We see precision fermentation as a continuation and technological expansion of this history. European regulations for novel food and biotechnology have been created to ensure that food placed on the market is tested extensively for safety,” explained Keitzer.
“This also enables consumers to trust these new and modern technologies. Therefore, we expect high consumer acceptance for this technology. The improvement of final products, which will be the result of new technologies, will convince consumers.”
