Agronomics Limited, a leading company focused on cellular agriculture, has announced that its portfolio company Formo Bio GmbH has partnered with Those Vegan Cowboys (TVC) to industrialize precision fermentation-derived caseins. The partnership aims to combine efforts in strain engineering, bioprocessing, and large-scale production of caseins to bring them to the mass market. Caseins are essential for the textures and properties of certain cheeses. Formo and TVC will maintain their distinct identities and market their own animal-free cheeses.
As founders of Food Fermentation Europe, Formo and TVC will work with the European Food Safety Authority to drive legislative change for precision fermentation-produced foods. Formo is already producing animal-free cheese with the same taste, texture, and functional properties as conventional cheese but at a substantially lower cost for the environment, human health, and animal welfare. Their precision fermentation-enabled cheese is set to enter the market later in 2024.
Raffael Wohlgensinger, CEO of Formo, expressed that the collaboration will improve technological efficiency and scale of production to achieve cost parity with conventionally produced protein. Jim Mellon, Executive Chairman of Agronomics, commented that the partnership is a positive step forward in achieving cost-parity with conventionally produced protein and establishing more ethical and environmentally friendly dairy production.
Agronomics is a leading listed company focusing on investment opportunities within cellular agriculture. It has established a portfolio of over 20 companies in this sector, seeking to invest in companies with defensible intellectual property that offer new ways of producing food and ingredients historically derived from animals. Formo, on the other hand, is a food tech company aiming to bring the next generation of animal-free products to consumers, with a focus on creating a more sustainable and ethical food system.
In conclusion, the partnership between Agronomics' portfolio company Formo and Those Vegan Cowboys is a significant step towards industrializing precision fermentation casein proteins, with the aim of achieving cost parity with conventionally produced protein and establishing more ethical and environmentally friendly dairy production.