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Is it actually possible to scale cheese made through precision fermentation? 🧀
Despite the plethora of plant-based options that have surged in the past decade, vegan cheese options have captured less than 2% of the cheese market in the US.
In a study with 245 plant-based cheese products in the US, only 3% of plant-based cheese alternatives had 5g or more of protein per serving... not to mention that the mouthfeel and taste do not always pair their animal-based counterparts.
In this Biofounders episode, I interview Inja Radman, a scientist who went from studying optogenetics in worms to cofounding and leading R&D at New Culture, a company that is commercializing new dairy proteins made through precision fermentation.
Cheese is obviously their first product, and they have secured over $5M USD in early demand from pizza restaurants across the US.
Keep in mind that the casein market (worth nearly $2.7B) is much broader than cheese or dairy — 65% is actually in segments outside of food, including supplements and drug delivery.
The team has raised nearly $30M from VC, including IndieBio and ADM, who they've also partnered with to scale up their production and bring down costs.
Check out the full Biofounders episode to learn how Inja and her team are bringing New Culture's cheese to every table!
Timestamps
[0:00 - 1:24] Trailer
[2:13 - 6:12] – Academic background and early research journey
[6:51 - 10:08] – Climate obsession and the origin of New Culture
[10:57 - 14:21] – Leaving academia to co-found a company
[15:14 - 19:53] – Assessing economic feasibility at Indie Bio
[20:20 - 24:28] – Building the right technical team as CSO
[24:28 - 30:47] – From engineered strain to finished cheese product
[34:02 - 37:34] – Bioreactors and the real cost driver: downstream processing
[38:00 - 39:42] – Contract manufacturing vs. building in-house
[41:00 - 45:25] – Nutritional value and product positioning
[46:00 - end] – Advice for future bio founders
