An Israeli startup company that produces dairy products without needing any cows has secured multi-million dollar funding to follow its goals. Remilk has been backed by investors to the tune of $11.3 million to set its wheels in motion. Those investors include local food makers Tnuva, Tempo and Germany’s dairy manufacturer Hochland.
The company uses a patented microbial fermentation process to create milk proteins that it then turns into a dried powder which can be used as the basis of a wide variety of authentic milk-based products.
![[Image source: remilk.com]](https://www.farmautomationtoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/remilk.jpg)
Helping to secure the funding was fresh.fund, a student-run venture fund, with participation from London-based CPT Capital; Jerusalem’s OurCrowd; ProVeg, a food awareness non-profit; German dairy firm Hochland; Israel’s Tnuva, a milk and dairy company; and Tempo, an Israeli maker of drinks.
According to a company statement, the co-founder and former managing director of Boston-based private equity firm Berkshire Partners, Bradley Bloom, also took part in the funding round, along with Amiad Solomon, a serial Israeli entrepreneur and investor, and food-tech investor Beni Nofech.
Aviv Wolff, co-founder and CEO at Remilk, said: “Today’s non-dairy alternatives address environmental and health concerns, but universally fail to create authentic dairy-based products, like cheese. We’re bridging this gap by making dairy products with dairy proteins, without needing a single cow.” adding “Our proprietary technology delivers the most authentic animal-free dairy product in the market today and is identical to natural dairy. With our new partnerships for production and distribution, we’ll soon be ready to reinvent this multibillion-dollar industry.”
Remilk products are cholesterol-free and contain no lactose, antibiotics, or growth hormones.
The statement added that the company’s products are also ‘far more sustainable and eco-friendlier than traditional dairy systems, requiring 1% of the land, 4% of the feedstock, and 10% of the water to produce than comparable dairy products.’
Zaki Djemal, fresh.fund managing partner, said: “Protein alternatives to meat and dairy are gaining global traction with both consumers and producers taking notice of the environmental, health-related and efficiency benefits they present. We see significant market potential for Remilk’s unique technologies across categories.”
Hubert Staub, the chief financial officer of Hochland, added: “In fermented proteins we see an interesting opportunity to develop innovative and sustainable products. Remilk is the ideal partner for Hochland to jointly develop this new raw material base.”
