15 December 2022
Sustainable creaminess is the future, so it seems and so we hope - too. With almost 50% of the votes, the Audience Prize of the Brave New Food Startup Challenge 2022 went to the Dutch startup Time-Travelling Milkman (TTM). “This Award has definitely brought Time-Travelling Milkman under the spotlight. This can help us achieve our goals and bring our sustainable creaminess on everybody’s plate,” according to Dimitris Karefyllakis, co-founder and CEO of TTM.
Using seeds to create creaminess
Time-Travelling Milkman stood out because they aim to be a key supplier of sustainable creaminess for the alternative dairy industry and beyond. Through its own technology, TTM extracts from (European) seeds, with only the use of water, naturally occurring fat droplets (oleosomes), that create creaminess, and without the requirement of stabilizers or emulsifiers. This can then be used in alternative dairy products to introduce taste and texture.
Taste and texture
As more and more people realize that our diets define our future, they are trying to decrease animal participation in their diets for the sake of our own and our planet’s health. “However, switching to more sustainable diets is easier said than done,” says Karefyllakis. “There are many reasons behind the resistance that consumers show when trying to adapt plant-based products in their diets, like high prices and long lists of unknown ingredients. But what always comes top of the list is: taste, texture, mouthfeel. We believe that there is a lot of room for improvement for many of these “first generation” dairy alternative products. Mouthfeel and creaminess compare poorly to the standard set by traditional dairy. In simple words: consumers would be happy to incorporate these products in their everyday life with the condition that the consumption of these products would offer a pleasant experience. And this is exactly what we focus on: improving the creaminess and mouthfeel of plant-based products for an irresistible consumption experience.”
Connecting & growing, together
Karefyllakis happily looks back on participating with the Brave New Food Startup Challenge: “During the Award but also the days that followed, several manufacturers of plant-based dairy have been in contact with us to set up introductions and trials with our product. Connections were also established with co-manufacturers, grant agencies and investors - so this award has definitely brought Time-Travelling Milkman under the spotlight. These types of partnerships can help us achieve our goals and bring our sustainable creaminess on everybody’s plate.” Karefyllakis adds: “Brave New Food is a great platform to build bridges between corporates, investors and startups. As our proposition picks up steam, it is very useful to be on the radar of so many valuable partners and potential customers. Visibility results in credibility and we are happy to be spamming ecosystem partners with our news until they will consider using our ingredients.”
A creamy and sustainable future
We can’t wait to see what’s next for Time-Travelling Milkman and are looking forward to seeing what possible collaborations might come to fruition. Brave New Food can already look back on successful challenges that have resulted in valuable collaborations. For example, previous challenges have led to successful collaborations between established companies and startups, such as Coroos with SUNT, Hocras with GRO and Horizon with Clear.