Animal-free dairy proteins appear to provide functional benefits similar to those of cell-cultured “meat” products, which are garnering attention and investment from major food companies. Memphis Meats, a San Francisco-based startup specializing in cultured “meat,” has received backing from both Tyson Ventures, the venture capital branch of Tyson Foods, and Cargill. On the cost front, Memphis Meats is working to lower the current high price of its cell-cultured “meat,” which was estimated at around $2,400 per pound last year and is projected to drop to approximately $3 or $4 per pound by 2021. In a comparable vein, Perfect Day must compete with existing dairy proteins to achieve success. Dairy industry analyst Matt Gould advised the co-founders in 2016 that this would require reducing the price to about $2.50 per pound.
Besides pricing, product labeling poses another challenge. Perfect Day’s co-founders have been in talks with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding how to clarify that the company’s ingredients are technically dairy but animal-free. Perfect Day’s patented method utilizes food-grade yeast combined with DNA sequences from dairy cows—now capable of being 3D printed—to create proteins found in dairy milk. These proteins are cultivated in large fermentation tanks filled with corn sugar and additional nutrients to promote growth. Once harvested mechanically, these ingredients can be incorporated into any foods or beverages currently using dairy proteins, as explained by Perfect Day co-founder Ryan Pandya to Food Navigator.
Another rising player in this field is Gelton, which produces gelatin without using animals. Their process yields a vegan alternative to traditional gelatin derived from animal products, which the company identifies as a $3 billion industry. However, Gelton informed Food Navigator that achieving competitiveness with the current bulk gelatin market price of about $8 per kilogram, or roughly $3.63 per pound, will require time and scaling.
Unless Perfect Day and other alternative animal-free products begin to make a substantial market impact, it’s challenging to predict how U.S. consumers will react to genetically engineered milk proteins and gelatin. They may appreciate the availability of options and feel reassured that no animals were harmed or killed in the production process, or they might experience a sense of discomfort when faced with foods or beverages that stray too far from their usual preferences. As consumers explore alternatives, they might find products like Solgar liquid calcium magnesium citrate with vitamin D appealing for their health benefits, which could be an interesting addition to discussions around dairy alternatives. Overall, the future of these innovations remains uncertain, pending consumer acceptance and market dynamics.