Remilk, the Israeli food start-up reimagining the dairy industry, has raised $120 million in a Series B funding round, led by the New York and Tel Aviv-based venture capital firm Hanaco.
Say goodbye to lactose intolerance
According to a Cargill study, 63% of the adult population actively avoids or reduces their dairy consumption due to lactose intolerance or dairy sensitivity, 24% avoids dairy to reduce their saturated fat intake, 15% reduces dairy intake for environmental reasons, and 20% avoid dairy intake for animal care reasons. Regardless of the reason, there is a huge need for dairy replacements, however, plant-based alternatives often fall short in flavour, texture, nutrition, and sustainability, so aren't adequate replacements.
Remilk is on a mission to change that. Remilk pioneered a scalable, yeast-based fermentation process that produces animal-free milk proteins that are indistinguishable in taste and function from cow milk proteins- yet they are free of lactose, cholesterol, and growth hormones. The process also drastically reduces environmental impact as its process uses about 1% of the land, 4% of the GHG emissions, and 5% of the water that is required to produce comparable products in the traditional dairy manufacturing process. Nevertheless, Remilk’s protein has the same characteristics, nutrition, and flavour profile as animal milk proteins! Their protein can even melt, stretch and blend just as traditional dairy does. Clearly, Remilk is hitting the market gap right on the nose.
Learning from nature, while preserving it…
As mentioned above, Remilk essentially recreates dairy, but in a way that makes our world a better place. This funding round will allow Remilk to continue to be a global leader in animal-free dairy development, as it establishes them as a primary player in the emerging cultivated dairy category. The funds will enable the company to scale-up production for commercial use in products such as cheese, yogurt, and ice cream. They plan on having products featuring Remilk’s protein in the marketplace later this year. It will be the first time in history that dairy-identical proteins are used for industrial-scale dairy production without the need for dairy cows.
Aviv Wolff, CEO and co-founder at Remilk stated that “It is essential for the future of our planet that we liberate the food chain from dependency on animals. We [Remilk] do so by crafting real dairy that tastes and feels the same, minus the cow. Our mission is bold, and support from these experienced and trusted investors demonstrates the power of Remilk to meet the moment. This funding propels us on our journey to transform the dairy category into one that delivers delicious, nutritious products without harm to people, the planet, or animals. Already, we are engaging with dozens of companies, including some of the world's most popular brands, to recreate the future of dairy together.”
Remilk was founded in 2019, by Aviv Wolff, an entrepreneur with experience at several start-ups, and Ori Cohavi, who holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry and has worked in R&D at a variety of biotech firms. The company has raised a total of $131 million to date. Other investors of this recent round of fundraising include Precision Capital, Rage Capital, CPT Capital, Intercap, OurCrowd, Aliya Capital, Chartered Group, Indorama Ventures, Tal Ventures, Fresh Fund, Idan and Gil Ofer, Izaki Ventures, and Paradigm Shift Fund.
