Starbucks Trials Alt-Milk From Startup Perfect Day
Perfect Day produces real cow’s milk without using actual cows through a process called microbial fermentation.
Starbucks has announced that it is testing milk made by alt-dairy startup Perfect Day Inc. in two select Seattle stores. The alternative foams and steams, and can be served hot and iced and will be available for no extra charge.
The non-animal dairy startup, currently valued at roughly $1.5 billion, recently raised $350 million in a late-stage funding round to support its mission of creating dairy without the need for cows or factory farming.
Starbucks continues to experiment with dairy-free alternatives in a bid to move towards more sustainable and animal-friendly options. Last year, the coffee giant started using Oatly products in select US stores before rolling it out nationwide in early 2021. Its share of orders that use plant-based milk jumped from 17 to 25 percent after it introduced Oatly. In Chile, the company uses another plant-based milk produced by NotCo SpA.
The collaboration with Perfect Day, however, marks a new kind of non-animal milk product. The startup uses a process called microbial fermentation, which produces real cow’s milk, without using actual cows. Fungi strains are programmed with the bovine DNA sequence responsible for making casein and whey - actual dairy proteins. They are fed sugars to produce the proteins, which are then dried to create a powder. That powder can be used to make other products such as milk, cheese, and ice cream. Although technically vegan, it may not be safe for people with dairy allergies.
Credit: Perfect Day
This innovation has the potential to end factory farming while lifting the strain on the planet caused by the traditional dairy sector - cow’s milk uses much more land and water and emits far more greenhouse gases than any plant-based milk, according to a 2018 University of Oxford study.
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