NEW TECH FOODS

German food tech company Formo has appointed Andreas Heyl as chief technology officer, as the company moves toward industrial scale-up and commercialisation of its precision fermentation platform.

Once primarily leveraged to replicate dairy proteins for plant-based applications, fermentation is now entering a new phase – one defined by technical diversification, novel ingredient production and the potential to transform formulation, functionality and sustainability across the food and drink industry. Leah Smith explores.

It’s easy to get caught up in the news and activities of the industry’s global giants, but what about the smaller firms pushing boundaries with bold ideas? In this instalment of start-up spotlight – which celebrates lesser-known companies and their innovations – we speak to Shen Ming Lee, co-founder and CEO of Terra Oleo.

The Good Food Institute Europe has welcomed the European Commission’s new Biotech Act, but said it marks a ‘missed opportunity’ for food innovation due to its exclusion of novel foods from its regulatory sandbox scheme.

Australian biotech innovator All G is accelerating its entry into the global speciality protein market through a joint venture with France-based bioactives company Armor Protéines, alongside the close of a AUD 10 million (approx. $6.6 million) convertible note round.

Pow.Bio, an AI-driven continuous fermentation company, and Bühler Group, a global provider of food and advanced materials solutions, have partnered to bring an integrated continuous precision fermentation platform to market.

Tetra Pak Processing Equipment has acquired Bioreactors.net, a Latvia-based company with nearly 30 years of experience in designing and manufacturing bioreactor systems.

The EU’s new Bioeconomy Strategy sets out plans to support fermentation-based food innovation, as the Netherlands becomes the first EU country to permit public tastings of fermentation-made novel foods.

Danish biotech Chromologics has raised €7 million in a funding round led by Novo Holdings, EIFO, Döhler Ventures, Collateral Good Ventures and Synergetic, bringing its total capital raised to nearly €20 million.

Fermenta, a health and performance nutrition start-up, is set to introduce protein bars made with Solein in the US market, with consumer availability planned for Q1 2026.

Re:meat has rebranded as Curve, marking a strategic shift toward enabling scalable and cost-efficient biomanufacturing of proteins across multiple industries.

Remilk, an Israel-based precision fermentation company producing dairy proteins without animals, has partnered with Gad Dairies to launch The New Milk.

French start-up Green Spot Technologies has raised €5 million to expand its industrial operations and introduce Milatea, a new brand of fermented ingredients designed for bakers, pastry chefs and chocolatiers.

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has awarded $32.3 million in research funding to 11 projects under the second phase of the Singapore Food Story R&D Programme, aimed at advancing innovation in future foods and food safety.

Pow.Bio has scaled its continuous biomanufacturing platform to 3,000 litres at ATV Technologies’ facility in Compiègne, France, marking a major milestone in the industrial validation of its technology.

The Every Company has secured $55 million in Series D funding to expand manufacturing capacity and advance commercialisation of its precision-fermented egg proteins.

Almost four in ten UK consumers (38%) say they would support the development of chocolate made using precision fermentation, according to new research commissioned by science marketing consultancy Diffusion.

Kingdom Five has launched K5 Radical Protein, a new solid-state fermentation platform that grows whole-food mycoprotein using the edible filamentous fungus Neurospora.

Japanese food manufacturer Ajinomoto has expanded its Solein-powered product line with the launch of a new ready-to-drink coffee under its sustainable brand Atlr.72.

Symrise has announced a strategic equity investment in Cellibre, a US-based biotechnology company focused on sustainable biomanufacturing.