15 March 2023
The next generation cheese solution is coming – and they’re not using animals for it. Nutropy produces real milk ingredients, identical to those produced by cows, to develop premium cheese alternatives that taste just as good as cow’s cheese but are more sustainable, healthier for humans and better for animals.
Nutropy is a French startup founded by Nathalie Rolland and Dr. Maya Bendifallah with the mission to reinvent French cheeses with sustainable deeptech and ancestral expertise. They produce gourmet, sustainable and healthier cheese alternatives. The co-founders are both cheese lovers and French citizens, who want to eat delicious, gourmet cheese – but with a better conscience. Nathalie: “Maya and I shared a passion and a huge disappointment: because of our gastronomic culture, we are used to consuming very good French cheese and the existing vegan cheese was simply not good enough.”
Using precision fermentation technology
Nutropy uses precision fermentation technology to produce animal-free casein. This milk protein is what gives cheese its stretchiness and creaminess, and until recently could only be obtained from animal sources. Nutropy is one of several companies across Europe making alt dairy products using precision fermentation. Nathalie: “The precision fermentation technology allows us to produce dairy proteins - caseins - that are 100% similar to the ones you find in conventional milk, without the cow. We do that by producing dairy proteins identical to cow proteins via microorganisms and by mixing them with selected ingredients inspired by traditional cheesemaking practices.”
Better for the environment
“Everyone loves cows, but animal-based dairy products are actually really bad for our planet. Cheese is front-and-center regarding three major environmental impacts (GHG emissions, land use and freshwater withdrawals),” says Maya. The precision fermentation technology is said to be the most sustainable way to produce protein, using significantly fewer resources than conventional dairy and creating less pollution. Dairy farming provides delicious products but at a high cost for the planet, our health and cows. Nathalie adds: “The technology we are developing will massively reduce freshwater use and greenhouse gas emissions compared to dairy made with cows.” Nutropy’s process also has the potential to use significantly fewer natural resources. Plus, their products are free of lactose and cholesterol.
“On top of this, alternative protein adoption acceleration will help free 60% of the total land currently used for livestock and feed production by 2035. This land could be partly dedicated to reforestation and carbon storage. All these impacts are why Boston Consulting Group recently reported that investing in alternative proteins is the most efficient use of capital for decarbonization,” Nathalie adds.
Cheese of the future
Nathalie: “Unfortunately, plant-based alternatives (which have only captured a 1% market share so far) are not meeting customer expectations because plant proteins do not have the same properties as dairy proteins. Bioidentical animal-free dairy is the solution everyone has been waiting for.”
The startup plans to launch its first cheeses within 24 months. Maya: “We are preparing for regulatory approval in the US and Europe which will allow us to start commercializing our products as soon as 2025 in the US and 2026 in Europe.”
Nutropy was one of the finalists of the Brave New Food Startup Challenge 2022. Read all about the finalists and winners here.
Want to read more about alternative protein? Check out this page.