Yeast

Asahi like milk

© Asahi Like
Milk- and Dairy Alternatives

Asahi Unveils Japan’s First Yeast-Derived Milk Alternative

Asahi Group Japan has introduced a new product, LIKE MILK, which is marketed as Japan’s first yeast-derived non-animal milk. The product, which uses the company’s proprietary yeast technology, is designed to cater to those seeking alternatives to traditional animal-based milk, particularly in response to food allergies and other dietary preferences. LIKE MILK will be available for purchase via the “Makuake” support purchase platform from April 16 to June 15, 2025, with a nationwide release slated for 2026. Responding to needs of allergy sufferers The product is described as free from the 28 major allergens typically found in foods, and is also said to have a mild, naturally sweet taste with no strong aftertaste. It offers a nutritional profile comparable to cow’s milk, containing similar amounts …

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Cosaic

Founders Tomas Turner and Dimitri Zogg. © Cosaic
Company News

Cultivated Biosciences Rebrands to Cosaic, Introduces Unique Yeast-Based Ingredient

Cultivated Biosciences, a Swiss producer of yeast-based ingredient solutions, has announced that it is rebranding to Cosaic and launching a new product. The name is intended to evoke the word “mosaic”, bringing to mind the blending of several ingredients into one product. The rebrand comes as Cosaic, which was originally focused on pure fat alternatives, changes its approach to produce a more powerful ingredient. The company has just introduced Cosaic Neo, a multifunctional natural emulsion made through yeast fermentation. The ingredient contains proteins and fibers as well as fat, claiming to provide eight key functionalities. It is said to replace unwanted additives while improving taste, mouthfeel, stability, and more. Strong value proposition Cosaic Neo is suitable for use in a variety of categories, including milk …

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beverages Angel Yeast

© Angel Yeast
Beverages

Redefining Protein Diversity in Functional Beverages: The Rise of Yeast Protein

Emerging Trends in Nutritional Prevention The Innova Market Insights 2024 report reveals two dominant global trends: “Proactive Prevention Before Health Concerns Emerge” and “Health-Focused Fusion in Indulgent Categories.” Over one-third of global consumers now prioritize preventive health measures, with weight management, cardiovascular health, and bone strength ranking as top concerns. For health-conscious demographics pursuing active ageing, functional beverages offering both nutritional value and sensory appeal are gaining unprecedented traction. Protein Beverages: A Portable Nutritional Revolution As versatile carriers of targeted nutrition, ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages have evolved into sophisticated solutions spanning sports nutrition, dairy alternatives, meal replacements, and protein fortification. The protein beverage category, segmented by protein sources into animal-based, plant-based, and hybrid formulations, now encompasses: With 82% of health claims in dairy/non-dairy categories emphasizing protein …

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Arsenale Bioyards

© Arsenale Bioyards
Fermentation

Investors Back Arsenale Bioyards with $10M to Scale AI-Driven Precision Fermentation

Arsenale Bioyards has raised $10 million in seed financing to support its efforts in reducing biomanufacturing costs and accelerating industrial-scale adoption of bio-based alternatives. The funding round was led by Planet A and byFounders, with additional participation from CDP Ventures, Acequia Capital, Plug and Play, Gray Silo Ventures, and several industrial family offices. The company focuses on optimizing precision fermentation, a process that utilizes microorganisms such as yeast or bacteria to produce proteins and other compounds. While this technology has been widely applied in pharmaceuticals, its expansion into food and cosmetics has been constrained by high production costs. Arsenale’s end-to-end biomanufacturing platform integrates industrial-scale bioreactors with AI-driven software to reduce costs and time-to-market, with the company projecting cost reductions of up to 90%. Scaling from …

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© Ohly
Market & Trends

How Food Manufacturers Can Leverage the ‘Better-for-You’ Trend with Plant-Based Innovations

Recent research indicates that 79% of consumers’ New Year’s goals revolve around improving health, with 34% focusing specifically on dietary changes. According to a Euromonitor study, over 60% of consumers plan to adopt healthier eating habits in 2024, favoring products with functional health benefits such as immunity support and improved digestive health. This trend highlights an ongoing shift in consumer priorities, creating new challenges and opportunities for food manufacturers. The global wellness market continues to expand at an annual rate of 5-10%, driven in part by weight management and health-focused products. Notably, 30% of consumers are willing to pay a premium for healthier food and beverage options. This growing interest, particularly strong at the start of the year, underscores the increasing pressure on manufacturers to …

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© Yeastup
Investments & Acquisitions

Yeastup Raises €9.47M to Turn Dairy Site Into Facility Upcycling Spent Brewers’ Yeast

Switzerland’s Yeastup, a company that extracts functional ingredients from spent brewers’ yeast using a patented process, has raised CHF 8.9 million (€9.47 million) in Series A funding. The funding will enable Yeastup to repurpose a former Swiss dairy facility into a large-scale production site with the capacity to upcycle over 20,000 tons of spent brewers’ yeast per year. The facility will require limited capital expenditure while benefiting from top-quality equipment. The new site will help to meet the significant demand for Yeastup’s products while serving as a reference site for global scaling efforts. To ensure cost competitiveness, Yeastup has established several strategic partnerships in supply and engineering. Investors that have provided funding to Yeastup include Beyond Impact, Gentian Investments, Newtree Impact, and Angel House. Various …

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© revyve
Company News

Lallemand Bio-Ingredients Becomes Exclusive Distributor for Revyve’s Yeast-Based Texturizing Ingredients in North America

Dutch food technology company revyve has entered a strategic partnership with Canada-based Lallemand Bio-Ingredients to distribute its yeast-based food ingredients in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The agreement positions Lallemand as the exclusive distributor for revyve in North America and deepens their collaboration, with revyve sourcing key raw yeast materials directly from Lallemand. Revyve specializes in transforming baker’s yeast into high-performance, animal-free texturizing ingredients for use in food applications such as egg replacements, plant-based products, and allergen-free recipes. These ingredients offer manufacturers solutions for creating textures such as fluffiness, firmness, cohesiveness, and stretchiness. Lallemand, known for its work in fermentation-based solutions including yeast, bacteria, fungi, and enzymes, brings extensive production and market expertise to the partnership. Bob Villeneuve, global sales director for savory at …

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Image courtesy of Ohly
Fermentation

Ohly Unveils Yeast-Based Bionutrients to Boost Fermentation in Alternative Proteins

Ohly, a German supplier of yeast derivatives and culinary powders for the food, biotechnology, and human and animal health industries, has introduced a new range of yeast-based bionutrients for fermentation processes used in cultivated meat, protein, cheese, and dairy alternatives. The bionutrients are described as “powerful tools” that act as nitrogen sources to achieve high yields, titers, and enhanced productivity, resulting in lower cost-in-use and high batch outputs. They contain a “balanced source of complex nutrients,” including amino acids, peptides, vitamins, minerals, growth factors, and nucleotides; however, they can be tailored to each production host’s specific requirements, providing flexibility. An expansion of the company’s X-SEED portfolio, the new range includes X-SEED® KAT Advanced, X-SEED® KAT Plus, and X-SEED® Carbo Peptone. Multiple prototypes for refined solutions The …

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revyve partners with Daymer Ingredients

© revyve
Ingredients

Revyve Secures First Overseas Distribution Agreement With the UK’s Daymer Ingredients

Dutch food tech company revyve has partnered with Daymer Ingredients to bring its natural, sustainable texturising ingredients to the UK. The partnership marks revyve’s first overseas distribution agreement, and will make the company’s yeast-based egg replacement ingredients available to British food and beverage manufacturers. It is part of a commitment by Daymer to bring a wider variety of high-performance, natural, and sustainable ingredients to the UK market. Revyve’s clean-label ingredients are made using a patented technology that micro-mills yeast, separating out the valuable proteins and fibres. The resulting products are said to offer exceptional functional properties such as heat-set gelling, binding, and emulsification. “The UK is a sophisticated food market with a diverse population of varying nutritional needs,” said James Brace, Managing Director of Daymer …

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A plant-based burger

© Lallemand Bio-Ingredients
Ingredients

Lallemand Invests in Enzyme Firm Livzym, Expanding Alternatives to Proteins, Chemicals & Sugar

Canada’s Lallemand Bio-Ingredients announces an equity investment through its Swiss affiliate, Danstar Ferment AG, in Livzym Biotechnologies, a Turkish company specializing in fungi-based enzymes for industrial use. With additional equity from Turkish investors, the funds will help finance the expansion of Livzym’s production plant in Tuzla, near Istanbul, to meet the increasing demand for sustainable enzymes across a wide range of industries, including food, textile, paper, animal feed, and biofuels. Lallemand Bio-Ingredients president Lars Asferg, shares, “We are committed to making biotechnology one of the answers to the challenges the world faces concerning nutrition, health, and the environment. The inclusion of Livzym’s enzymes within Lallemand’s portfolio will enable us to offer our customers an exciting range of high-performance enzymes.” Strategic collaboration As part of the strategic …

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Girl drinking milk in school

© Lightfield Studios - stock.adobe.com
Fermentation

Canada’s Renaissance BioScience Receives Government Funding to Develop Yeast Solution for the Off-Flavors of Plant Proteins

The Vancouver-based yeast bioengineering company Renaissance BioScience has been awarded CAD $232,000 in funding from the Canadian Food Innovation Network to develop a revolutionary product for plant-based protein products.  Renaissance is working on a pioneering project with food industry partners to develop and commercialize a non-GMO solution to neutralize compounds that lead to off-flavors and undesirable aromas in plant-based flours and proteins. In addition to enhancing taste, the yeast aims to eliminate the need for commonly used “flavor masking” ingredients by providing a clean-label solution for manufacturers; on a product’s ingredient list, the yeast solution will be simply identified as “yeast.” Better flavor for a growing market Despite the health and sustainability benefits that plant-based alternatives to animal products offer, widespread consumer acceptance is hindered …

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chicken bouillon Lallemand

© Lallemand
Ingredients

Revolutionizing Plant-Based Eating: A New Sensory Experience with Savor-Lyfe® CI

In recent years, a growing awareness of sustainability concerns, food security issues, and the environmental and public health consequences associated with industrial animal agriculture has prompted a shift towards plant-based diets. While the demand for plant-based products has surged, there remains a challenge to develop alternatives that not only cater to niche markets but also resonate with mainstream consumers. Flexitarian consumers, consciously reducing their meat intake for health, environmental, and animal welfare reasons, are driving significant expansion within the plant-based food market. According to Mintel’s 2024 Global Food & Drink Trends, consumers are no longer willing to compromise taste and cost for sustainability credentials. As the cost of living rises, companies are faced with the challenge of delivering on all fronts – taste, cost, and …

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Vegan Burger Display at a Take Away stall in London's Borough Market UK

Image courtesy of Lallemand
Ingredients

Lallemand’s Animal-Free Vitamin D Yeast Approved For Multi-Category Use in UK

Lallemand, a family-owned business headquartered in Canada, announces the expansion of categories of use for its non-animal derived Lalmin vitamin D yeast in the UK. The company pioneered the use of vitamin D yeast as a novel food, obtaining the first such authorization in the EU in 2014. The respective Ministers of Primary Care and Public Health in England, Scotland, and Wales have now authorized extended uses in 26 food categories of UV-treated baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) as an animal-free source of vitamin D, marking the first post-Brexit vitamin D yeast approval in the UK by Lallemand. The new categories include bakery, fermented products, sauces and condiments, pasta, and meat and dairy analogs. An application has also been submitted to the US FDA to extend …

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Ohly

Kristina Vervoorst. © Ohly
Interviews

Ohly: “Creating State-of-the-Art Ingredients That Contribute to Sustainable Lifestyles”

Ohly is a world-leading provider of specialty yeast products and extracts. These vegan-friendly ingredients can be used to enhance flavors, reduce salt content, mask off-notes, and more. Last year, Ohly launched a native yeast protein concentrate with a gelling function that can replace eggs in numerous applications, such as desserts, bakery products, and sauces. The ingredient can also act as an emulsifier, foaming agent, and more. Ohly has recently added to its extensive range by developing its first carbon-neutral yeast extracts. We spoke to Nancy Zacca, director of global sales, and Kristina Vervoorst, product and marketing manager, to find out more about the company and its products. Ohly offers a range of plant protein ingredients. What solutions do you bring to food producers? How do …

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mycoprotein meatballs in tomato sauce

© Patrycja-stock.adobe.com
Fermentation

Danish Yummowia Project Leverages Syn Bio to Transform Yeast into Mycoprotein Meat

Yummowia, a project spin-off from the Technical University of Denmark led by Professor Irina Borodina to develop an engineered mycoprotein meat alternative from yeast, has been accepted into the Bio Studio accelerator program of the BioInnovation Institute (BII) in Denmark. Backed by a maximum grant of €1 million per year for up to three years, BII will assist the project with business development expertise, intellectual property support, access to an investor network, and wet lab and office infrastructure. BII’s Bio Studio program supports world-leading entrepreneurial principal investigators (PI) who want to translate innovative research ideas into new solutions to benefit planetary and human health. Additionally, BII, with its Venture Lab accelerator, helps grow and scale startups such as FÆRM, which is crafting the next generation of plant-based …

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the fruit of the palm oil used for palm oil production

© Clean Food Group
Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Cultivated Palm Oil Has Potential to Reduce Dependency on Controversial Palm Oil Industry

Clean Food Group, a company developing cultivated palm oil alternatives made from yeast, is currently preparing for the commercialisation of its Clean Palm Oil planned for 2023 aiming to reduce dependency on the controversial palm industry. The development process began at the University of Bath, where Christopher Chuck, Professor of Bioprocess Engineering, has been working on a project using “unique fermentation processes to develop a palm oil substitute from lignocellulosic waste.” In Q1 2022, the relevant intellectual property gained during the project was acquired by Clean Food Group, a food ingredients startup for which Prof Chuck is Group Technical Advisor. Back in 2021, UK cellular agriculture investment group Agronomics announced its plans to make investments into new “category leaders in both cell culture and fermentation …

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Super Nooch Notorious Nooch Co

©Notorious Nooch Co
Market & Trends

Global Market for Nooch to Soar to Almost $1Billion

Nutritional yeast, known colloquially as nooch, has reached a global market size of  $428.1 million according to a new report, and is set to more than double in the next ten years, reaching almost a billion, at US$999.5 million. Nutritional yeast, an inactivated yeast usually made from saccharomyces cerevisiae, has been widely used by vegans as a cheese replacement, for added umami flavour or use in sauces. Nooch offers several potential health benefits, ranging from lower cholesterol to protein from cellular damage, and contains high amounts of vitamin B12, often lacking in the plant-based diet. Nooch in the mainstream Countless brands around the world are producing nooch in flake format to be sprinkled on pastas, salads, or any food as a parmesan-style alternative. One of …

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Lallemand

Image: Lallemand
Company News

Lallemand Receives Authorization For Non-Animal Vitamin D Yeast in the EU

Lallemand Bio-Ingredients, a yeast specialist based in Canada, announces that the EU Regulation authorizing the use of its Lalmin® non-animal vitamin D yeast in 22, consolidated, new food categories, has now been published. Vitamin D is vital for human health; it is obtained by sunlight and some foods, and supplements are recommended for those in countries with less sunshine. Many vitamin D products come from animal sources including eggs and lanolin. Previously, Lallemand‘s vitamin D yeast was permitted for use in baked products and food supplements. In April of last year, Lallemand received a favourable opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for the use of vitamin D yeast in additional categories, including fermented milk or cream, and meat or dairy analogues. The EU …

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ProteinDistillery

©ProteinDistillery
Ingredients

ProteinDistillery Launches Customizable Vegan Protein from Upcycled Brewer’s Yeast 

ProteinDistillery is a German biotech startup producing what it claims is the first customizable vegan protein to fully substitute all functionalities of animal protein. The innovative proteins are obtained from upcycled brewer’s yeast, using by-products from Germany’s famous beer industry and contributing to a sustainable circular economy. Not requiring the addition of fillers or stabilizers such as methylcellulose, ProteinDistillery says its microorganism-derived proteins are designed to offer solutions across multiple areas of the alt protein sector, including meat, dairy, and egg alternatives, as well as functional food. The customizable vegan protein is offered by the food tech startup in a B2B model to manufacturers. In Germany, the birthplace of the famous beer “purity law”, yeast is not only available in large quantities but also offers …

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Greg Erdei ©Lallemand Bio-ingredients
Interviews

Lallemand Bio Ingredients: “We Provide High Value Yeast Ingredients to Key Players in the Plant-Based Marketplace”

Lallemand Bio-Ingredients, a yeast specialist based in Canada, follows a customer-centric strategy and strengthens its business relationships worldwide by visiting several expositions and summits. We spoke to Greg Erdei, Business Development Manager – Plant Based Nutrition, about customer relationships and yeast extracts that bring an umami taste profile to plant-based products. Who is Lallemand and what does the company stand for in the plant-based sector? Lallemand Bio-Ingredients (LBI) is first and foremost a customer orientated yeast company – we are a dedicated and loyal supporter of our customer base. Within the Savory segment, we provide high-value yeast-based ingredients to food and flavours producers – many of which are either key players or startups in the plant-based marketplace. What is Lallemand’s plant-based range? We develop, produce …

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