Hong Kong billionaire steps up funding to develop animal-free fats, a key component in making plant proteins taste and feel just like eating meat
Li Ka-Shing is noted as a billionaire businessman and he will be considerably richer if his US$11million (A$14 million) investment in start-up company Nourish Ingredients produces the tasty plant based food it promises.
Nourish Ingredients does in fact take its claim even further, “We can tailor flavour and mouthfeel to precisely reproduce the taste and texture of pork, beef, chicken, fish, milk, cheese, and beyond”, co-founders Dr James Petrie and Dr Ben Leita claim.
Meat and Dairy producers and associated organisations have never faced competition of the like we are about to witness.
Consumers with a bent to erase tradition, number in their millions and any chance to show their generation has all the answers will create the groundswell that a chemical synthesis alternative fat needs to succeed.
ACT-based start-up Nourish Ingredients is aware of this, and the two founders, former CSIRO scientists Dr James Petrie and Dr Ben Leita have raised the AU$14.4 million (US$11 million) in funding they need to get the operation off the ground.
The pair met while researching lipids in 2013. Since then, they developed a fermentation process aiming to recreate the structure of animal fats.
Their point of difference is that other companies are focussing on proteins, Nourish Ingredients claims it is fats that are essential in making the finished product taste like the real thing.
This push by Nourish Ingredients is the biggest threat to real beef and dairy to date as it’s believed the company is the first to have the right formula to imitate a natural fat taste.
The difference in how Nourish Ingredients is achieving its tastier synthesis flavour is through a cellular agriculture fermentation process that creates fat compounds to mimic those found in animal sourced products.
Nourish Ingredients co-founders Dr James Petrie claims the cultivated fat that will be added to plant-based meat applications will give customers the proteins taste and feel like the real thing.
Dr Petrie is avoiding falling into the trap of previous plant-based meat products that relied on fats from palm and coconut oils, suggesting these ingredients don’t bring the same sensory qualities as animal fats.
Both Dr James Petrie and Dr Ben Leita will be tapping their product into a huge global market to bring the taste and texture qualities of animal fats to plant-based meats. A move expected to encourage mass adoption of plant-based proteins.
Previously the plant-based meat market has suggested price parity with traditional meats has held back its roll-out, however Dr Ben Leita believes once the taste issue is settled the most important factor in enabling mass adoption will be fixed.
Dr Ben Leita says, regardless of the price point, consumers won’t buy a product they don’t enjoy eating, noting that, “Fat is a flavour enabler, what we bring to the table will help these products go to the next level.”
With the funds, the co-founders plan to expand their team of five to more than 20, with a strong focus on research and development.
For the record, CSIRO has acquired 16,834 shares in Nourish Ingredients Pty Ltd
