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 of the year.
“We are excited to work with Melt&Marble, as we are united by an innovative attitude and a desire to develop better and tastier products together,” said Saara Pöyri, Director of Product Development at Valio. “The aim of this cooperation is to take the sensory properties and nutritional content of Valio’s plant-based products to a whole new level by utilizing Melt&Marble’s cutting-edge technology.”
Boosting taste and food security
Melt&Marble’s technology involves producing fat in fermentors using microbes. The nutritional properties of the fat can be customized to replace palm oil, coconut fat, and shea fat in plant-based products.
Last year, Melt&Marble unveiled new headquarters with expanded R&D and production capabilities, which it said would enable commercial-scale production. A few months later, the startup received a €2.5 million grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator and a €260,000 grant from the Horizon Europe Framework Programme. It said the funding would be used to reduce production costs and accelerate the pre-commercialization of its first products.
In September 2024, Melt&Marble achieved a milestone with the demo-scale production of over ten thousand liters of fermented fats. The company said the performance had demonstrated its platform’s scalability and robustness.
“We’re incredibly excited to work with an established and forward-thinking company like Valio,” said Anastasia Krivoruchko, CEO of Melt&Marble. “This collaboration is a key step forward in our mission to revolutionize the food system by providing high-quality, sustainable fats that offer the same taste and functionality consumers expect from traditional animal fats. By producing fats locally, we’re also adding the benefit of increased food security and self-sufficiency.”
