Danish plant-based cheese startup FÆRM has received follow-on funding through a founder-friendly convertible loan of €1.3 million from BioInnovation Institute‘s Venture House program.
“At FÆRM are working hard to democratize plant-based cheese”
FÆRM is a B2B company licensing a patented method that mimics dairy fermentation to produce what it describes as flavorful, high-quality, and clean-label plant-based cheese. Food producers or both dairy and plant-based cheese companies can integrate FÆRM‘s process without significant investments to make products and tap into the growing vegan cheese market.
“Every day, Andrea Donau and the rest of our amazing team at FÆRM are working hard to democratize plant-based cheese. And this new collaboration with BioInnovation Institue Venture House is a big step forward,” co-founder Mikkel Dupont shared on social media.
What makes cheese great?
Andrea Donau and Dupont established FÆRM in 2020 to revolutionize plant-based cheese using science and legumes. “Ditching dairy should not come at the expense of enjoying cheese,” they argue.
FÆRM, with its team of experts, has developed a technology that replicates the science of cheesemaking by using bacteria, enzymes, proteins, and time — the simple ingredients of cheese.
The technology ferments legume-based plant matrices with specific protein, sugar and fat ratios and transforms them into cheese. The fermentation and mechanical treatments give the products their structure and authentic dairy flavour, without the need for coconut oil, binders, and additives.
To date, the Danish startup has developed cream cheese, brie, and fresh mozzarella using soy, but the technology can also be used with other non-allergenic legumes.
Companies around the world are increasingly using similar methods to compete with dairy products in taste and price. New Zealand’s ANDFOODS crafts plant-based creams and milk powders using legumes and fermentation. Meanwhile, the US companies, Daiya and Armored Fresh, are leveraging traditional fermentation to make next-gen plant-based cheese.
“Through an understanding of what makes cheese great, we have developed a process that has benefitted from thousands of years of tradition and decades of scientific research into cheesemaking,” FÆRM states on its website.
