IFT First 2024: Vivici’s whey protein from precision fermentation poised to enhance taste and nutrition
05 Aug 2024 | Vivici
Dutch start-up Vivici has introduced its beta-lactoglobulin whey protein produced via precision fermentation. Beta-lactoglobulin is the most common whey protein in cow’s milk and boasts unique nutritional and functional advantages, in addition to being more sustainably produced. Stephan van Sint Fiet, CEO of Vivici, explains how the ingredient’s higher leucine and branched-chain amino acid content can deliver more value to consumers in the US.
This is Missy Green with Food Ingredients first at IFT 2024.
I'm here with Stefan von Sinfiet, who is the CEO at Vivici.
Welcome, Stefan.
So tell us what is Vivici showcasing here today?
So Vivici is a Dutch start-up company making dairy protein by precision fermentation.
We are a B2B ingredient company and part of a growing family of companies that are making and marketing alternative proteins.
So precision fermented dairy proteins is not even allowed in the world.
Where, where is that?
Is that what's the regulatory status of that in the world?
So in the US we follow, we follow grass.
In, in February 2024 we've achieved self grass status and so we've launched our ingredient to the US market and we are today here at IFT showcasing our ingredient and we've we've brought some interesting product formulations to show our customers what you can do with the with the protein.
So this is a whey protein, is it a specific whey protein?
Yes, yes.
So what we produce is called beta-lactoglobulin.
It's the main whey protein.
It has all of the great nutritional and functional properties of whey, but it's a pure single protein that we make.
Are there specific characteristics that make this whey protein the one that you decided to focus on?
Yeah, it's nature's best nutrition from a nutritional perspective, from a functional perspective.
It's a fantastic ingredient, so it's great in gelling, foaming, emulsifying, has great thermal stability.
It's very neutral in odor.
And in taste, it has really high leucine content.
It has high branch chain amino acids, so it's really from a nutritional and functional perspective, a great ingredient and has a lot of different applications, which is also why we started with this protein because that allows us to really work with a broad range of food and beverage companies.
The other precision fermented dairy proteins that are now on the US market are those also beta-lactoglobulin.
There are some products on the market that are beta-lactoglobulin here at IFT.
We have some other peers, I would say from our industry.
Every company is here.
Turtle tree is here or ecobio is here, so we see more and more precision fermented proteins coming to the market, be that whey protein or egg protein or other proteins.
So more and more these ingredients are becoming available to the US market.
What's going to be your unique selling proposition in the sea of startups who are coming around?
So first of all, we will focus on the nutritional and functional qualities of the ingredient.
Obviously what we bring to market is a more sustainably produced and more ethically produced protein, but we market it in our story focusing on the nutritional and functional properties of the ingredient.
We believe that ultimately the consumer cares about great.
And about how it tastes and about the experience and about the sustainability perhaps in its second step so we don't lead with sustainability.
We bring the sustainability but we don't lead with it.
We focus on nutritional and functional differentiation.
That's also what we are trying to show here at the booth by bringing some of the beverages, some of the sports nutrition, some of the protein and nutrition bars where people can come and actually taste the difference.
Do you see precision fermentation sort of replacing dairy, or do you think it will have a hybrid synergy with plant-based?
I think we consider ourselves a complementary source of protein.
So over the next two decades we'll see a doubling of protein demand in the world driven by growing populations and more affluent consumers.
And we simply have to have additional sources of protein.
We can't double the amount of cows and chickens and pigs on the planet with the resources sustainably available to us, so we need complementary sources of protein that together form a future and sustainable protein mix.
That's what we're looking for.
So we really see ourselves as a complementary source of protein.
How close is your products now to price parity with other types of whey protein and what's the trajectory for bringing costs down?
We're getting very, very close to price parity, so that obviously requires scale.
That requires technological optimization, but ultimately I have no doubt that these ingredients, not just Vivici's ingredients, but also some of the egg ingredients and some of the other ingredients, they will be marketed at price parity, and that will really unlock their mainstream ingredient potential.
So you're a Dutch company coming to the US to launch your business.
Do you see any plans for precision fermentation?
Dairy proteins in Europe or other markets in the world.
Yes, certainly.
So we've come to the US first because it's a market that moves very quickly from a regulatory perspective.
It's a very large market and there are very, very interesting product and consumer innovations here, so it's a great place to start, but we'll definitely also seek regulatory approval of our ingredients in Europe and also in Asia.
