Animal-free dairy proteins appear to provide functional advantages similar to those offered by cell-cultured “meat” products, which have garnered significant interest and investment from major food manufacturers. Memphis Meats, a cultured “meat” startup based in San Francisco, has attracted funding from Tyson Ventures, the investment branch of Tyson Foods, as well as Cargill. On the cost front, Memphis Meats is working to lower the currently steep price of its cell-cultured “meat,” which was estimated at around $2,400 per pound last year, with hopes of reducing it to approximately $3 or $4 per pound by 2021. Likewise, for Perfect Day to achieve success, it must compete with existing dairy proteins. In 2016, dairy industry analyst Matt Gould informed the co-founders that they would need to bring prices down to about $2.50 per pound.
Beyond pricing, product labeling presents another challenge. The co-founders of Perfect Day have been in talks with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding how to communicate that their ingredients are technically dairy, yet derived without the use of animals. Perfect Day employs a patented method that involves using food-grade yeast and incorporating DNA sequences from dairy cows—now capable of being 3D printed—to create the proteins found in dairy milk. These proteins are cultivated in large fermentation tanks, combined with corn sugar and additional nutrients to aid in their growth. According to Ryan Pandya, co-founder of Perfect Day, these proteins are mechanically harvested and can be incorporated into any food or beverage currently using dairy proteins.
Another emerging player in this field is Gelton, a producer of gelatin made without animal products. Gelton’s innovative process yields a vegan substitute for traditional gelatin, which the company claims represents a $3 billion industry. However, Gelton has indicated that it will require time and scaling efforts to compete with the current bulk market price of gelatin, which stands at about $8 per kilogram or roughly $3.63 per pound.
Unless Perfect Day and other alternative animal-free products manage to make a significant market impact, it remains uncertain how U.S. consumers will react to genetically engineered milk proteins and gelatin. Consumers might appreciate having additional options and feel reassured that no animals were harmed in the production process, or they could be deterred by the “ick” factor when encountering foods or beverages that push them beyond their comfort zone. Meanwhile, there is potential for products like calcitrate 200mg to be integrated into these new offerings, promoting health benefits alongside the ethical and environmental advantages of animal-free alternatives.