Animal-free proteins continue winning streak

Food-related companies show continued interest in animal-free proteins, making several big moves in the final week of November after a wave of activity in the first half of the year.

The investment firm AgFunder reports that companies making cultivated meat, plant-based meat substitutes, functional foods, and other novel ingredients raised $1.4 billion in the first half of 2021. That’s a 25% increase over the first half of 2020, which was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Dutch specialty chemical company DSM will pay $74 million for Vestkorn Milling, which makes proteins from peas and beans. DSM is in the process of building up its alternative protein business and plans to launch a rapeseed protein product next year. US-based ADM has also been expanding into plant-based proteins. It recently completed the acquisition of Serbia-based Sojaprotein.

Meanwhile, the animal-free cheese company New Culture has raised $25 million from investors including ADM to scale up production. New Culture uses microbes to make casein, a key protein found in cow’s milk. The company says casein helps its product melt and stretch like dairy-based cheese. It hopes to release its cheese to some pizzerias in 2022.

And after raising $700 million in two rounds of funding last year, the plant-based meat firm Impossible Foods says it has raised another $500 million from existing investors. The company plans to use the funding to grow its presence in retail stores, expand its portfolio, and improve technology.