New Protein Fund I supports 17 alternative protein start-ups

NPF I is backed by leading food corporations including AAK, Avril, Bel, Bu?hler Group, Givaudan, Meiji, Temasek Holdings, and Tyson Foods. Big Idea Ventures, a global leader in early-stage investments in the alternative protein sector, has now revealed its selection of 17 alternative protein makers for its lastest bi-annual accelerator cohort. “For the 6th cohort working with our New York team, we are excited to welcome a collaborative minded group of founders from diverse backgrounds, spanning multiple countries,” said Caroline Mak, Big Idea Venture’s Program Director in New York. “From cultivated fats to manufacturing support, we continue to see trends towards creating technical innovations that we believe will drive and support the ecosystem of alternative proteins as a whole.”

Among the companies selected, there are some from Europe:

? Cultimate Foods (Germany) — a cellular agriculture company that creates alternative fat
ingredients for plant-based meat products. Unlike other fat alternatives, this company
replicates the structure of animal fat tissue. Their technological approach of combining fat cells
and plant-based proteins creates the structure of their ingredient while reducing costs.
? Extracellular (UK) — channels biology, digitalisation and biomanufacturing expertise to
accelerate cultivated meat development. They use their scale up experience and deep insights
into cellular behavior to produce biomass for cultivated meat companies more efficiently, and to
develop licensable technological advancements. They’re digitizing process development,
pulling together huge quantities of data to make better decisions faster and at scale.
? Esencia (Germany) — Esencia Foods is Europe’s first company building fish and seafood
alternatives based on mushroom mycelium, using solid state fermentation. Its mission is to
accelerate the world’s transition toward a (sea-)food system that provides accessible and
affordable nutrition for everyone by building a technology platform to recreate different fish and
seafood types from mycelium. Esencia Foods pursues a vertically integrated business model,
‘from lab to fork’.
? Loki Foods (Iceland) — specializes in using 100% renewable energy to produce plant-based
alternative-seafood products in Iceland, the seafood capital of the world. They will launch
plant-based white fish (analogue of Atlantic Cod) in 2023, as well as a line of seafood products to
replace conventional seafoods.
? Food Squared (UK) — a plant based company who formulate whole cut fish alternatives using
novel 3D printing. Their biomimicry technology enables higher precision and quicker
throughput than conventional whole cut manufacturing methods and has the potential to be
fully tunable which can be adapted to create models for different species with different taste,
texture and nutrition profiles. They also utilize ingredients with a lower carbon footprint to offer
new and better tastes and textures.
? Niskus Biotech (Ireland) — leverages its scaled up solid state fermentation process to provide
food companies a new generation of sustainable functional food ingredients that are nutritious,
healthy & natural. Their first ingredient product range is MycoGrain, a gourmet mushroom
mycelium-based protein rich flour suitable to use as a base ingredient for a broad range of food
products. It can be tailored to provide additional taste, texture, aroma, and nutraceuticals by
changing the mushroom species in the fermenter.
? The Good Pulse Co. (UK) — develops natural, functional proteins and ingredients from pulses
for use in plant-based foods and supplements. Their mission is to power the transition to
plant-based foods by providing sustainable and minimally processed ingredients that make it
easier and cheaper for food companies to create more nutritious dairy and meat alternatives.
Their unique processes focus on maximizing functionality, nutrition, and re-valorisation of all
components extracted from pulse seeds.
? Shoken (UK) — a London-based gourmet vegan meat manufacturer focusing on deli slices and
pizza toppings like pepperoni. The company’s roadmap is built for speed and maximum impact.
Their strategy focuses on key global partnerships and high volume accounts in the foodservice
and pizza sectors. Backed with Michelin credentials and skills, they have the expertise to create
indulgent, taste addictive flavor formulas.

All funded start-ups are invited to take the last remaining places to participate in Industria Biotec, the first Industrial Biotech Day, which will take place on 6 and 7 October in Berlin. In addition to a high-level food panel, there are four other thematic streams around the decarbonisation and circular economy of industry along with a start-up pitch and opportunities for partnering.