Africa’s First Precision Fermentation Company To Create Animal-Free Dairy
Start-up De Novo’s innovative fermentation process can produce the identical milk proteins found in cow’s milk and create the likes of ice cream, yogurt, and cheese - all without using a cow.
Photo: Andrew Skowron
Africa’s alternative protein sector continues to grow as start-up De Novo becomes the continent’s first precision fermentation company to focus on animal-free dairy products.
Also known as cell-based dairy, De Novo’s innovative fermentation process uses microorganisms as a blueprint to create animal-free milk proteins. The process effectively replaces cows with vats, where the fermentation works similar to beer brewing, except the end result is a vat of dairy milk. Cell-based dairy has the real taste, texture and nutritional value of animal-derived dairy, but without the factory farming, lactose, hormones or antibiotics.
Technologies like cell-based meat, fish, and dairy are predicted to transform the global food industry, and help provide a sustainable, environmental, and ethical solution to the global factory farming and aquaculture crises.
Studies show that 57% of all food-related emissions result from meat and dairy production, meaning that innovative food-tech companies like De Novo could provide the solution to a more sustainable system for producing the world’s food supply.
Based in Cape Town, South Africa, De Novo has already received early-stage backing from Canada’s CULT Food Science Corp, an investment platform that focuses on supporting cellular agriculture that can advance a move away from farming animals.
“It really is inspiring to see all the international support De Novo Dairy has been receiving for our mission to improve human nutrition whilst removing animals from the food chain” says Jean Louwrens, CEO of De Novo. “Having CULT Food Science on our side has definitely taken it to the next level, and we look forward to what we will be achieving together in the coming years”.
Animal–free dairy is already starting to impact the mainstream food industry, as leading brands like Starbucks trial cell-based dairy from start-ups like Perfect Day. Perfect Day uses the process of microbial fermentation to produce real cow’s milk without using actual cows - and the company has been valued at $1.5 billion.
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