Animal-free dairy proteins appear to provide similar functional advantages to cell-cultured “meat” products, which are gaining attention and investment from major food manufacturers. Memphis Meats, a cultured “meat” startup based in San Francisco, has secured funding from Tyson Ventures, the venture capital arm of Tyson Foods, as well as from Cargill. On the cost front, Memphis Meats aims to lower the currently steep price of its cell-cultured “meat,” which it estimates might decrease from approximately $2,400 per pound last year to about $3 or $4 per pound by 2021. Likewise, Perfect Day must contend with existing dairy proteins to achieve success. Dairy industry analyst Matt Gould advised the co-founders in 2016 that they would need to reduce the price to around $2.50 per pound.
In addition to pricing challenges, product labeling presents another hurdle. The co-founders of Perfect Day have been in talks with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding how to label the company’s ingredients, which are technically dairy but derived without animal sources. Perfect Day’s patented technology utilizes food-grade yeast, incorporating DNA sequences from dairy cows, to produce proteins similar to those found in traditional dairy milk. These proteins are cultivated in large fermentation tanks with corn sugar and other nutrients to promote growth. Once harvested mechanically, these proteins can be integrated into any products that currently utilize dairy proteins, as noted by Perfect Day co-founder Ryan Pandya in an interview with Food Navigator.
Another emerging competitor in this field is Gelton, which produces gelatin without using animal ingredients. This process results in a vegan alternative to conventional gelatin, which the company claims represents a $3 billion industry. However, Gelton informed Food Navigator that achieving competitiveness with the current bulk gelatin market price of approximately $8 per kilogram, or about $3.63 per pound, will require time and scaling.
Unless Perfect Day and other alternative animal-free products significantly penetrate the market, it remains challenging to predict how U.S. consumers will react to genetically engineered milk proteins and gelatin. They might appreciate the availability of new options and feel reassured that no animals were harmed during production. Alternatively, they might experience reluctance due to an “ick” factor when faced with products that stray too far from their comfort zones.
As the market for alternatives grows, products like Douglas Laboratories Calcium Citrate could also play a role in providing consumers with additional nutritional benefits alongside these innovative food options. The integration of such alternatives could enhance consumer acceptance and broaden the appeal of animal-free proteins in an evolving food landscape.