What does your startup do and what is your mission?
Clémence: Update Foods develops plant-based milk and dairy solutions that are based on microalgae and faba-bean protein. We focus on producing affordable products that aim to replicate the taste, appearance, texture, and nutritional benefits of conventional animal-based dairy products.
Transitioning to a more plant-based lifestyle should look and feel effortless, almost invisible. Our mission is to take an updated version of milk and other dairy staples mainstream. With our products, we aim to help the next generation to move towards a plant-based lifestyle without any regrets.
Where did the idea for your company come from?
Clémence: Update Foods sounded like an obvious, exciting, and impactful project to us when we connected the dots between the following elements:
Firstly, plant-based living is gathering momentum. Flexitarianism is becoming more popular and there are a growing number of consumers looking for 100% plant-based options.
When you add to that the number of people who are lactose intolerant, you are looking at an attractive pool of potential customers. Adopting a plant-based lifestyle is also crucial if we are to cope with the world’s environmental, health, animal welfare, and social justice challenges.
Secondly, some people still struggle with going plant-based, even if they genuinely want to. For example, many consumers say that they “miss the taste” of cheese or milk.
The current alternatives available on the market are not (yet) convincing enough to seduce flexitarians or hardcore cheese-lovers. There is therefore still a need for accessible, affordable, and delicious plant-based dairy products to be developed.
Finally, the current plant-based sector still has a long way to go. For example, my father cannot make the switch to plant-based dairy alternatives because they are generally soya-based or inaccessible.
He cannot eat soya and he lives far out in the countryside. Our goal is to help people like him to replace conventional animal-based products with alternatives that suit 21st-century living.
