Replacing animal products and raw materials with plant-based ones is not only a social trend, but also a rapidly growing field of activity for startups. So does the Viennese startup Fermify. This offers its B2B customers the possibility of milk protein production based on precision fermentation – which should ultimately make it possible to produce vegan cheese such as a mozzarella counterpart. Fermify was founded by entrepreneur Eva Sommer and her former professor, Christoph Herwig.
Now Fermify is reporting with a big round of financing: In a seed financing round led by Climentum Capital, Fermify receives 5 million dollars (approx. 4.5 million euros). Also contributing to the funding round are Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund, Fund F, Clima Now, Satgana Ventures, Triple Impact Ventures and existing investors Übermorgen Ventures, Backbone Ventures, Push Ventures and Simon Capital. “We have very strong demand from different customers and we have to carefully select the first 2 or 3 pilot customers we work with so that they are the first to bring vegan cheese to market,” Sommer said in a press release. More than 40 customers are already in the pipeline.
2027 comparable cost to traditional cheese
While other vegan cheese alternatives are made in different ways (e.g. from cashew nuts like Cultured), Fermify is about being able to produce casein proteins that give the cheese alternative the right meltability and structure that milk cheese is used to . It sees the potential to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by over half a million tonnes of CO2 equivalent over the next 10 years – because the fermentation process “reduces the need for millions of cows in milk production”. Due to the emission of methane gases, cows are a major factor in climate change.
Unlike other vegan startups, Fermify will not appear with its own B2C brand, but will license its technology to other companies. “With our unique technology, combining precision fermentation with digital twins, we are addressing several pressing needs, such as drastically reducing carbon emissions and enabling vegans and
Flexitarians can enjoy cheese,” says Christoph Herwig. Co-founder of Fermify. By 2027, the costs could be reduced by 50% compared to conventional batch fermentation, then the costs could be comparable to those of conventional cheese.