Lyon, France-based precision fermentation startup Bon Vivant, which is utilizing biotech methods to reprogram yeast microorganisms to provide animal-free milk proteins with a considerably decrease environmental footprint than conventional dairy, credit readability of technique and execution for holding its traders enthused at a time when elevating stays a problem for a lot of tech founders.
All of the traders in its April 2022 pre-seed (€4M) adopted on for the oversubscribed €15M (~$15.9M) seed it’s asserting right this moment, in accordance with CEO and co-founder, Stéphane MacMillan. The spherical is co-led by Sofinnova Companions and Sparkfood, with Captech Santé additionally taking part. Different traders in Bon Vivant embody Alliance for Influence, Excessive Flyers Capital, Kima Ventures, Founders Future and Picus Capital.
MacMillan factors to a choice he and his co-founder, Hélène Briand, made to focus solely on a b2b enterprise mannequin — that means the novel protein startup is aiming to be a provider for, not competitor to, the meals trade — as one thing traders have particularly appreciated.
“For the reason that starting we’re centered — b2b oriented. And in Europe, specifically, virtually all [competitors] are nonetheless b2c, b2b2c; [or have an] unclear technique. That’s an enormous differentiator,” he tells TechCrunch. “I feel that explains why, in solely 19 months, we’ve attracted traders — as a result of for the reason that starting we’ve got a technique that’s clear and that we’re executing on which helps loads, clearly. As a result of there’s readability. Then the workforce is structured this fashion. The processes are put in place… In order that’s, I feel, one of many key selections why additionally we attracted Sofinnova, which is the largest VC in biotech in Europe.”
“My view is if you end up a startup you might want to perceive, fairly carefully on the worth chain, the place are you good — and really higher than anybody else to do it?” he provides. “I contemplate that constructing the tech, constructing the method of fermentation, doing purification. All of that we will deliver loads… However relating to advertising, distribution and producing tonnes of ultimate product, I don’t suppose I’m going to be higher than any Danone or Nestlé.
“Actually, I don’t wish to compete with them… I might like to companion with them after which really additionally for those who’re critical concerning the [environmental] influence that you just wish to drive and… you’re actually critical about your mission then the one approach to have the larger influence is to assist the blokes which are doing tonnes of dairy merchandise each single day. And so that you don’t wish to struggle them on advertising, distribution and new product however assist them with an ingredient that permits them to cut back their footprint.”
The dairy trade and different purchasers Bon Vivant is focusing on to promote its yeast-grown milk proteins are fascinated about its elements to reply all kinds of “performance wants”, per MacMillan — whether or not it’s making a gelling impact, foaming, texturizing and many others — and he says there’s no approach to do this with just one kind of milk protein popping out of the fermenting vats. Therefore why it’s creating microbial yeast strains that may produce whey and casein to make sure broad versatility for the multinational “meals industrials” it desires to promote to.
“For the reason that starting, we’ve got two workstreams: One is on whey; one other one is on caseins. As a result of that’s simply a part of the technique; we wish to reply — and to be the one-stop-shop b2b chief for — dairy and meals industrials,” he says.
Bon Vivant co-founders: Hélène Briand and Stéphane MacMillan (Picture credit: Bon Vivant)
MacMillan suggests this additionally provides Bon Vivant an edge vs rivals which have centered extra narrowly, at the very least initially — saying he doesn’t suppose anybody else within the cow-free milk house is (at the moment) engaged on each milk proteins. However he concedes the sphere is transferring shortly and says he expects opponents will converge on the identical technique (so he’s anticipating extra pivots to b2b). Bon Vivant’s 19-month head-start on this street means it has a great likelihood to ascertain a lead, although, he believes.
Alt protein startups have confronted some challenges in latest occasions — particularly these cooking up merchandise that intention to disrupt the standard meat trade. However relating to producing non-animal based mostly dairy the sphere is much less crowded. Although there are some huge names too, equivalent to US-based Excellent Day.
Setting apart plant-based alternate options to take advantage of, that are ten-a-penny nowadays (however don’t provide the identical dietary qualities, properties or style as cow’s milk), MacMillan says there are far fewer alt protein startups going after dairy. But with so many potential merchandise that would make use of cow-free milk proteins as an ingredient — from drinks like milkshakes, to yogurts and cheese spreads (or certainly exhausting cheese, although that’s clearly a much bigger R&D problem), confectionary and baked items, to ice-cream, and lots extra apart from — he’s not sweating concerning the competitors proper now. Certainly, the potential pie (cheesecake?) seems sufficiently big for a lot of gamers to seize a slice.
The workforce’s focus is reasonably on executing its plan to scale manufacturing and procure the required regulatory clearances so its precision fermented proteins can discover their approach into all kinds of meals merchandise supposed for human consumption.
Bon Vivant’s milk proteins are indistinguishable from cow’s milk proteins so may — technically — be used to provide ‘vegan’ cow’s milk merchandise since no cows had been harmed within the manufacturing course of. (The cow’s DNA that’s mixed with the yeast comes from a cell financial institution.) However as a b2b provider Bon Vivant isn’t going to be a producer of vegan milk — or some other particular foodstuff. Its ambitions are broader: It desires to produce the meals trade’s big want for extra sustainable dairy proteins.
“The market all of us must serve is gigantic. It’s simply large,” he says. “And if you have a look at it, what number of startups are we engaged on it proper now, I feel we’re possibly like 30 one thing, 35 possibly… and that’s actually a small quantity. In comparison with, take for instance cell-based meat — which is a model new expertise, superb one, and I imply it’s nonetheless an actual moonshot — [where] you’ve possibly 300 startups? Nicely-financed on this planet. It’s loopy. So, I don’t suppose there’s a lot, to be trustworthy, competitors between all of us [non-animal dairy startups]. We actually have all to be centered on the large meals industrials which are ready on us to provide 1,000s of tonnes. That’s the focus.”
Bon Vivant is anticipating the US market will likely be the place it obtained its first regulatory clearance — and it’s hoping to have the ability to commercialize its milk proteins there as quickly as 2025.
MacMillan tells us he expects the method of acquiring regulatory clearance within the European Union to take longer (he suggests two to a few years), on account of the bloc’s extra stringent meals security guidelines.
The brand new funding is being poured into scaling its manufacturing capability in the direction of, down the road, the industrial scale manufacturing wanted to be a provider to meals giants. However there are nonetheless plenty of phases on the street to get there. And MacMillan confirms it is going to be persevering with to make use of third events to assist with manufacturing for the foreseeable future (he suggests this is a bonus of with the ability to leverage an current approach, i.e. precision fermentation, to make a novel meals product — whereas lab-grown meat startups must deal with organising novel manufacturing strategies too).
Bon Vivant will use the seed funding to open a brand new lab in Lyon so it could produce extra samples for its goal purchasers within the meals trade (“companions” is the way it refers to them at the moment; however, it hopes, purchasers sooner or later if/when it secures contracts). The lab will have the ability to produce 40 litres of product so nonetheless approach beneath industrial scale. It should additionally allow the startup to dial up testing and product growth, per MacMillan.
“We’re constructing our personal lab. It’s nonetheless solely pre-production. We’re going to have the ability to produce solely samples — however they may enable us to speed up exams and trials, innovation, IP manufacturing, all that,” he notes, including that the seed can even be spent on working in the direction of regulatory clearances — paving the best way for commercializing its novel milk proteins in just a few years’ time if all goes to plan.
Whereas meals startups which are cooking up alternate options to meat — whether or not lab-grown or plant-based — proceed to face assaults from the standard meat trade, equivalent to strategies their merchandise are unhealthily ultraprocessed or unnatural ‘frankenmeat’ (and even makes an attempt to stitch doubt they’ve a decrease carbon footprint than meat from farming animals), MacMillan sees a much more collaborative relationship blossoming between alt dairy producers and the standard dairy trade.
Certainly, he doesn’t just like the time period “different” being utilized to Bon Vivant’s milk proteins as he argues its merchandise will likely be “complementary” to conventional dairy, reasonably than a whole alternative for animal-based milk — at the very least definitely not for the foreseeable future. The idea is adjustments to how established meals programs function gained’t occur in a single day. So being a complement, reasonably than attempting to supplant, is the most effective technique.
He argues precision fermented milk proteins might be a boon to the supply-constrained dairy trade by serving to it deal with the problem of rising demand for milk-based merchandise whereas concurrently offering a approach for it to cut back its carbon footprint and align itself with a urgent, world sustainability agenda.
He even suggests we might even see dairy merchandise showing on grocery store cabinets sooner or later that include a blent of each sorts of proteins: precision fermented and people squeezed straight from a cow’s udder.
“We’re actually in the beginning of all this — we you solely begin to perceive precisely the facility of biotechnology and precision fermentation. So I feel that on the finish of the day, I might say the thought is to not substitute the milk in any respect. It’s extra complimentary,” he suggests. “So if already we may scale back — by 30% — greenhouse emissions of dairy merchandise, so make a hybrid product, you’d use milk and a number of the proteins that we’re producing, for instance, you would cut back using [cows] that will work already — as a result of that’s the entire level, proper?
“So, to me, I actually see it as a complementary expertise, reasonably than changing [traditional dairy] — as a result of we gained’t substitute all milk. I imply, that’s not the target. So yeah, so assume sooner or later right here, quickly sufficient, it is possible for you to to have animal proteins, outdated dairy merchandise. I don’t see why not.”
“You additionally must be sensible right here and see what we’re speaking about,” he continues. “It’s an enormous trade. [Big reductions in traditional dairy production] is not going to occur in a single day. No approach really… Demand [for dairy] is rising, like loads. On the identical time, milk manufacturing is lowering. So there’s already a niche that we have to fill with our expertise.
“The one approach to actually obtain what we wish to obtain — which is scale back the carbon footprint, scale back the water consumption and all that; everybody desires to do this — we have to work all collectively on that to make it occur sooner reasonably than later. In any case, I imply, it’s not going to occur in a single day. We’re not within the digital world the place you’ll be able to simply [blitz-scale a new product]. It’s the actual world.”
On the environmental credentials facet, Bon Vivant just lately printed an early LCA (aka, Lifecycle Evaluation Report), which was undertaken by a 3rd celebration — evaluating manufacturing of 2,160 tonnes/12 months of its fermented, animal-free whey protein in opposition to an identical quantity of cow’s milk. The examine additionally factored within the manufacturing of the extra carbohydrates, lipids, minerals and many others required to mix with its whey proteins to make an equal product to cow’s milk.
Outcomes from this early LCA look very promising — suggesting Bon Vivant’s precision fermentation course of may scale back greenhouse fuel emissions by 97%; consuming water consumption by 99%; and vitality utilization by 50% in comparison with acquiring the identical quantity of milk from cows.
“Though these figures, likely, will transfer — as a result of the method will change; and we must do a brand new model of the LCA most likely yearly — nonetheless if you end up at these kind of figures — and if it’s not 99%, it’s going to be, what, 95? 92%? — it’s nonetheless large. And that’s why it’s actually vital,” he provides. “It nonetheless means that you’ve an incredible influence. That’s why it’s actually, actually cool.”
Beginning a enterprise that would have an effect was one of many fastened standards MacMillan set himself when, in the direction of the top of 2020, he was casting round to provide you with his subsequent huge startup concept. (One in all two prior startups he co-founded was the e-scooter agency Circ, which was acquired by Hen in 2020; the opposite was a meals supply agency). Additionally on his wish-list was a enterprise he might be constructing over the long run — for “the following ten years”. With precision fermented milk proteins he appears to have discovered the candy spot.
Commenting on Bon Vivant’s seed increase in a press release, Michael Krel, companion at Sofinnova Companions, added: “Bon Vivant’s pioneering work in animal-free dairy proteins via precision fermentation aligns completely with Sofinnova’s mission to advertise sustainable options for a more healthy planet. We’re delighted to assist Stéphane, [co-founder] Hélène and the workforce as they proceed to remodel the dairy sector and contribute to a extra sustainable agri-food period”.