As the world continues to shift toward more sustainable living, animal-free dairy startup Imagindairy has secured $15 million in a new funding wave as it seeks to launch its first wave of "guilt-free" dairy products by next year.
Milk analogues, alongside synthetic meats, could help reduce reliance on livestock in the long term. Credit: Yaniv Koppel / Imagindairy
Led by investment firm Target Global and the Israeli firm's other major shareholders, the latest round brings its total worth up to $28 million, already making it one of the highest earners in the market for alternative dairy proteins.
Read more: How meat and dairy are heating up the planet
Imaginary is one of many recent arrivals looking to tackle ethical and sustainability challenges within the food and beverage sector. Its bread-and-butter is the creation of milk proteins using the fermentation of microorganisms - think the creation of gluten in bread.
In essence, it is still nearly identical to milk taken from animals, but without any ethical concerns.
The milk can then be used for a variety of foodstuffs, ranging from raw milk to cheese without directly involving animals. This synthesis of technology and food strongly suggests that people may not need to drastically alter their eating habits to take better care of the world around them.
Imagindairy claims its proteins are not genetically modified (GMO), are cholesterol-free, and possess the same flavour, texture, functionality, and nutritional value as their cow-based counterparts.
Pictured (l-r): Prof. Tamir Tuller, PhD., Eyal Afergan, PhD., Co-Founder and CEO and Arie Abo, PhD. Credit: Imagindairy
It also claims it is a cost-effective way of producing dairy products due to its process supposedly "amplifying protein expression", meaning it can likely make a large amount from a single source.
More practically, tech like this helps reduce reliance on livestock, a huge source of greenhouse gas emissions.
Objectively speaking, the meat and dairy sectors are actively contributing to global warming. Agriculture is the leading cause of methane emissions - denser than air and carbon dioxide - and analysis suggests the sector may rival oil and gas giants in terms of emissions produced.
Europe, despite styling itself as ahead of the curve on sustainability issues, is also a major contributor to this.
Imagindairy founder Eyal Afergan claims this early success with funding shows that the private sector has faith in the company's vision.
He said the money will help the team make dairy analogues a "day-to-day reality" and will go towards funding its first product launch in 2024.
This second round's earnings will be used primarily in R&D, where the firm will develop a range of dairy products while allowing it to expand its workforce.
“We are excited to be able to back the Imagindairy team who have made incredible inroads in creating dairy products that don't rely on industrialized animal agriculture but offer the same level of functionality and nutrition,” says Shmuel Chafets, Executive Chairman and Founder at Target Global.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that, given the climate crisis and growing shortage of food, our dietary patterns and habits must change.
"Animal-free dairy has the potential to become one of the most environmentally impactful industries on the planet.
"We are strong believers that the Imagindairy team’s vast experience in manufacturing at scale, paired with the cutting-edge technology they have built, will be transformational for this space." Target Global’s contribution to this round marks one of its first investments in the food-tech industry", he added.
Dairy analogues aren't the only way the food and beverage sector can reduce the reliance on livestock.
Both cultured and alternative meats - meats made from animal cells or analogues such as plants, respectively - are a significantly more advanced field, seen with pioneers such as Impossible Foods.
Read more: Alternative meat firm Impossible Foods launches in the UK
Cellular engineering has been used to make a number of foodstuffs, from beef burgers to fish.
Cultured meat, which is grown from animal cells, operates on a similar premise to dairy analogues, by showing that, while reliance on livestock should be severed, it does not mean human pallets have to become blander.
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