Key facts:
- Nature’s Fynd launches two products: a plant-based cream cheese and a meatless burger.
- The startup has raised more than $150 until now, notably from CPG leaders such as Danone.
- It uses a protein called “Fy” created through fungi fermentation. Its uniqueness is in the process itself. A few years ago, the company identified an extremophile fungus in Yellowstone. Used to the place’s extreme conditions, it can ferment in a tray in the open air. This process is much more convenient and cheaper than the traditional fermentation process (which often imply costly bioreactors).
- The products are available for $14.99 and are already sold out.
- Unlike other products using precision fermentation, such as Perfect Day, the process is GM-free. It makes the product much more likely to be approved globally (notably in Europe).
- Other startups are using similar technologies, notably, The Protein Brewery in the Netherlands, which recently raised €22M
Why it matters – DigitalFoodLab’s opinion:
Is Nature’s Fynd following Perfect Day’s strategy? 18 month ago, the latter launched online a batch of ice cream under its brand as an experiment. Now, it primarily sells its ingredient (dairy proteins created with precision fermentation). This first batch was only a demonstration that it was possible to create consumer products with its protein and that it would raise the interest of the consumer.
As Nature’s Fynd has already large corporations at its capital (Danone, ADM), this first batch may be “just” a demo of what big CPG first would be able to do with its fungi protein. If we draw an analogy, we may expect to see products using Nature’s Fynd technology on the shelves as soon as the end of the year.
