Denmark-headquartered bioproduction company 21st.Bio is granting access to its precision fermentation platform to food and beverage ingredient manufacturers.
The platform aims to enable the production of dairy proteins at a competitive cost through precision fermentation. It follows 21st.Bio’s successful scaling of the beta-lactoglobulin protein, a major protein found in milk that provides nutritional and textural components of milk and other dairy ingredients.
By offering its platform widely, the food-tech company aims to mitigate the cost and time associated with development, opening access to proven industrial-scale production technology for alternative protein precision fermentation.
21st.Bio said its platform provides a sustainable and less carbon- and resource-intensive alternative to traditional animal-based production methods, and can help to stabilise global food supply chains.
Customers utilising the platform will have access to industrial production strains, fermentation processes, scale-up support and technology transfers to contract manufacturers and regulatory approvals for faster time-to-market and reduced cost.
The technology foundation is licensed from Novonesis (previously Novozymes), which has 40 years of experience in optimising production strains and processes for industrial production. The technology base is already used to provide dozens of food-grade products on the market today.
21st.Bio consistently optimises the strains and processes, aiming to ensure customers are ahead of the market. The technology can be tailored for each customer’s specific purpose, such as the nutritional fortification of a plant-based product, improvement of texture in alternative dairy, and medical nutrition.
Customers can be start-ups planning to take one or several proteins to market, as well as established players expanding into sustainable alternatives or dairy companies aiming to grow with the increasing global demand for proteins while reducing their environmental footprint.
Thomas Schmidt, CEO of 21st.Bio, said: “We founded 21st.Bio with one simple mission: to make precision fermentation technology accessible to as many companies as possible, so they can successfully take their product to market at a competitive price”.
He added: “We believe this is the best way for technology to support and accelerate the transition to more sustainable and better nutrition globally. With this new offering, I am proud that companies will be able to safely scale innovation into industrial production and meet global demand utilising our technology and expertise.”
