This startup is creating ‘real’ dairy, without cows

We’ve grown used to oat milk and soya milk — now a food-tech startup is taking alternative milk to the next level.

California-based Perfect Day uses fungi to make dairy protein that is “molecularly identical” to the protein in cow’s milk, says co-founder Ryan Pandya. That means it can be used to make dairy products such as cheese and yogurt.

“We were interested in the question of what is in milk … that gives it incredible versatility and nutrition that is somehow missing from the plant-based milks,” says Pandya.

Perfect Day has assembled the gene that codes for whey protein in cow’s milk, and introduced it into a fungus. When the fungus is grown in fermentation tanks, it produces whey protein, which is then filtered and dried into a powder used in products including cheese and ice cream — which are already on the shelves in the United States and Hong Kong.

“[It’s for] people who still love dairy, but want to feel better about it for themselves, for the planet, and for the animal,” says Pandya.

Fermented fungi

Although Perfect Day’s protein contains no lactose, hormones or cholesterol, it isn’t suitable for people with a dairy allergy. But as the process involves no animals, Pandya describes the product as “vegan-friendly.”

It’s also good for the environment. By removing cows from the equation, the production of milk is “dramatically more efficient,” says Pandya, producing up to 97% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventional dairy.

The dairy industry is estimated to have emitted 1.7 billion metric tons of CO? equivalent in 2015, and food-tech companies have seen an opportunity to create alternative products. California-based Perfect Day uses a fermentation process to create milk protein using fungi. Scroll through to see more dairy innovations changing the way we eat.

Perfect Day's milk protein is already being used in ice cream products in Hong Kong and the US, including Brave Robot. The animal-free ice cream also contains no lactose.

TurtleTree is also producing milk without cows, by using cultured mammary cells. The process is still in the R&D phase, but TurtleTree says it can replicate cow, goat, camel, and even human milk.

Other companies are looking to make plant-based solutions more sustainable. Nestle says its pea-based milk, Wunda, is made in a factory that buys 100% renewable electricity.

Mooala's gluten-and-nut-free organic banana milk is made from bananas and sunflower seeds. It has a "hint" of a banana taste, making it suitable for foods like cereals or smoothies.

Canadian statup Plant Veda has expanded its nut-based milk products into cashew-based lassi, a yogurt drink containing fruits and maple-based sweeteners.

Despite its name, Rude Health's Tiger Nut milk is made from tubers with tiger-like stripes, rather than nuts, which are also used to make the Spanish drink "horchata."

Made from locally sourced ingredients, Yoconut's coconut-based yogurt is dairy, gluten and soy-free and has no added sugar or preservatives.

Food-tech startups are now looking beyond the ordinary to make alternative dairy products. Grounded Foods has created vegan cheese from hemp, and cauliflower that is considered too imperfect to be sold in shops, helping to tackle food waste.

These food-tech startups are reimagining dairy

Prev Next

In 2020, Perfect Day launched Brave Robot ice cream with The Urgent Company, and partnered with ice cream brands N!ck’s and Graeter’s to make its products available in 5,000 stores across the United States.

The company is already reaching an international market, with its protein used in Hong Kong’s Ice Age ice creams, which taste similar to regular supermarket brands — and unlike some plant-based dairy alternatives, there’s no taste of coconut, banana, or other base flavors.

The next product in development is cream cheese, due to be released later in 2021, says Pandya.

A rapidly growing market

Perfect Day isn’t the only company looking to science for sustainable dairy solutions. California startup New Culture is also developing cheese products without cows through a fermentation process, and TurtleTree Labs is creating milk — including human milk — from cultured cells.

According to figures from the Good Food Institute — a nonprofit that aims to boost innovation in alternative proteins — $590 million was invested in fermented alternative proteins in 2020, and $300 million of that went to Perfect Day.

Chemical and biological engineer Ryan Pandya (left) and biomedical engineer Perumal Gandhi (right) founded Perfect Day in 2014.

Plant-based milk accounted for 15% of US milk sales in 2020 and is expected to grow, says Mirte Gosker, acting managing director of the Good Food Institute in Asia Pacific.

One challenge for companies is getting regulatory approval, and another is the higher price of innovative products, says Gosker. Perfect Day’s ice cream retails for about the same as high-end brands like H?agen-Dazs or Ben & Jerry’s.

Many countries are eager to develop food-tech innovation. Singapore, where Perfect Day recently established a research and development lab with a government-backed agency, is “leading the way with its regulatory framework,” Gosker says. Support from “governments has a big role to play here, to invest in open-access R&D and in infrastructure,” she adds.

Pandya says the startup is also seeking regulatory approval in Canada, India and Europe, as well as looking for partners in the dairy industry.

“We’re developing the kinder, greener way to make your favorite foods starting in the dairy aisle, and we can’t do that alone,” says Pandya.