What does your startup do and what is your mission?
Biofect Innovations is on a mission to sustainably bring high-value protein ingredients to the food system in order to support the creation of smart and eco-conscious products.
By combining synthetic biology with fermentation technology, we create unique microbes capable of sustainably producing resource-demanding proteins. These proteins are structurally and functionally equivalent to those found in nature.
With our technology, we create animal-free analogues of protein ingredients such as casein and whey, as well as other functional plant proteins. We do this in order to support the continuous development of healthy and delicious plant-based food products.
Where did the idea for your company come from?
As a biotech company that is harnessing the power of microbes, we were inspired by the story of insulin. Only 40 years ago, this product came from the animal-agriculture industry.
Until the 1980s, around twenty thousand animals had to be killed in order to make less than half a kilogram of insulin. But then, it was discovered that bacteria could be ‘taught’ to produce insulin by combining biotechnology and traditional ‘beer-brewing’ fermentation processes – without killing a single animal and at a far lower cost.
With this approach, insulin production was reimagined in a kinder, more sustainable, and cost-effective manner. This same technology can be applied to sustainably recreating nature’s most resource-demanding ingredient products. This is a core part of Biofect Innovations’ vision.
