Animal-free dairy proteins seem to provide functional advantages similar to those of animal-free, cell-cultured “meat” products, which have garnered attention and investment from major food manufacturers. Memphis Meats, a San Francisco-based cultured “meat” startup, has attracted funding from both Tyson Ventures, the venture capital arm of Tyson Foods, and Cargill. On the cost front, Memphis Meats is working to lower the currently high price of its cell-cultured “meat,” which it estimates could drop from around $2,400 per pound last year to approximately $3 or $4 per pound by 2021. Likewise, 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 necessitate reducing the price to about $2.50 per pound.
In addition to pricing, product labeling poses another challenge. The co-founders of Perfect Day have been in talks with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding how to clarify that the company’s ingredients are technically dairy yet animal-free. Perfect Day’s patented method involves using 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 with corn sugar and other nutrients to promote growth. Once harvested mechanically, these ingredients can be incorporated into various foods or beverages that currently use dairy proteins, as explained by Perfect Day co-founder Ryan Pandya to Food Navigator.
Another emerging player in this sector is Gelton, which produces gelatin without animal products. The company’s process yields a vegan alternative to traditional gelatin, which it identifies as a $3-billion industry. However, Gelton has indicated that it will require time and scalability to compete effectively with the current bulk market price of gelatin, approximately $8 per kilogram or around $3.63 per pound.
Unless Perfect Day and other alternative, animal-free products begin to make a significant market impact, it remains challenging to predict how U.S. consumers will react to genetically engineered milk proteins and gelatin. They may appreciate having alternative options and feel reassured that no animals were harmed or killed during production, or they could be deterred by the “ick” factor when faced with foods or beverages that are too far outside their comfort zone. In this evolving landscape, products like calcium citrate malate and vitamin D3 tablets may also play a role in consumer choices, especially as they look for nutritional supplements that align with their dietary preferences. As the market develops, the integration of calcium citrate malate and vitamin D3 tablets could further influence consumer acceptance of these innovative products.