Precision Fermentation: How Microorganisms Are Revolutionising The Food Industry?

What Is Precision Fermentation And What Is So Exciting About It?

Although it has massively grown in popularity in recent years with increased research efforts and funding, precision fermentation actually dates back from the 1980s. What started with the production of human insulin from E. coli then expanded to food applications, with the production of chymosin as a replacement to calf rennet – now used in over 70% of cheeses in the US and the UK!¹Digital, G. (2024, août 25). Is your cheese GMO ? The Non-GMO Project and other activists claim 90 % of cheeses in America are & # 8216 ; tainted& # 8217 ; . Here are the facts. Genetic Literacy Project. https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2024/08/16/is-your-cheese-gmo-the-non-gmo-project-and-other-activists-claim-90-of-cheeses-in-america-are-tainted-here-are-the-facts/

But what exactly is precision fermentation you may ask? It is the modification of microorganisms into little production factories. Scientists select the gene, or portion of DNA, which codes for the molecule they want to produce and insert it into the DNA of a host microorganism engineered to produce the target molecule. During the fermentation step, the host is grown in a bioreactor, it consumes nutrients, such as sugars, and produces the molecule of interest which is then separated and purified from the fermentation broth.

Now that we have the technicalities down, what is the big fuss around precision fermentation? As of early 2025, at least 88 precision fermentation start-ups have collectively raised more than $2.8 billion to develop animal proteins. In February alone, US biotech manufacturing firm Liberation Labs and Dutch ingredients startup Vivici respectively raised over $50 million and €30 million to expand their precision fermentation capabilities.²Vivici secures € 32.5M in Series A funding for precision fermentation dairy proteins. (s. d.). https://www.vivici.com/insights/vivici-secures-series-a-funding And it doesn’t stop there. Precision fermentation is projected to reach over $35 billion in value by 2030, a 43% Compound Annual Growth Rate from 2024!³Precision Fermentation Market Size | Industry Report, 2030. (s. d.). https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/precision-fermentation-market-report Here are 3 reasons precision fermentation is getting so much attention:

1. Technological Progress: With impressive advances in synthetic biology, genome editing and fermentation engineering, it is becoming faster and cheaper to design microorganisms with the ability to produce high-value ingredients in a controlled and efficient manner.
2. Sustainability & Climate Impact: This technology offers great potential to reduce climate impact, with preliminary studies suggesting reductions of over 90% in greenhouse gas emissions, land and water use for precision fermentation dairy proteins compared to animal-derived counterparts.⁴Novozymes, Terefe et al., Net Zero Insights, 2022, https://sifted.eu/articles/net-zero-insights-novozymes/
3. Animal Welfare: Precision fermentation enables the production of animal-identical proteins without using animals, which aligns with the ever increasing consumer demand for vegan and animal-free products.

Zoom On Animal-Free Dairy As Key Application Of Precision Fermentation To The Food Industry

With so much potential for sustainable alternatives to traditional animal-based products, it is no surprise that the main food applications of precision fermentation focus on creating animal-free ingredients. As examples, Impossible Foods and Every Company are respectively using precision fermentation to produce heme, a molecule found in meat, to enhance the flavour and texture of plant-based burgers, and no-chicken egg-whites to use for baking and cooking.

While precision fermentation food applications are numerous, the production of animal-free dairy-proteins appears to have stolen the show. Indeed, as of 2025, over 20 start-ups (Standing Ovation, Formo, Vivici, Remilk, TurtleTree etc.) have taken on the challenge of offering sustainable and animal-free alternatives to traditional dairy products. The key to delicious dairy products comes down to casein and whey, functional dairy proteins that provide stretch, melt and creaminess, properties hard to replicate using plants alone. Thanks to precision fermentation, it is now possible to produce dairy proteins and create animal-free milk, cheese, yoghurt and even ice-cream!

Beyond start-ups, precision fermentation-produced dairy proteins have attracted major food industry players, who see it as a strategic path towards sustainability, innovation and meeting consumer demand. Many partnerships have been announced in this space, including Nestlé with Perfect Day, General Mills with Remilk and Bel Group with Standing Ovation. The latter recently revealed a patented innovation with the production of animal-free casein from whey waste using precision fermentation. This initiative falls within wider circular economy efforts, clearly highlighting the technology’s potential to meet current challenges related to sustainability, food sovereignty and waste reduction.

Key Challenges To Overcome Towards The Democratisation Of Precision Fermentation

While precision fermentation shows great promise within the food industry and beyond, four main barriers appear to be preventing the technology from reaching its full potential.

1. Scale-up and Manufacturing capacity: With most players at the start-up stage, scaling up precision fermentation and expanding manufacturing capacity is essential. While commercial infrastructure remains limited due to the cost and complexity of building and operating large-scale bioreactors, increasing funds are being gradually secured towards the expansion of precision fermentation towards larger production capacities.
2. Environmental and Economic Sustainability: Most microorganisms are currently being fed with glucose from corn or sugar cane, carrying their own environmental footprint. A transition towards sustainable feedstocks, away from the volatility of the agricultural markets, will therefore be a crucial step in the democratisation of the technology.
3. Regulatory Approval: While precision fermentation ingredients (e.g. California Performance Co. V-Whey powder) are already a reality in the US and Asia, Europe is lagging behind. Indeed, at least seven companies have achieved GRAS status in the US with their precision fermentation-derived dairy proteins, while none have been approved in Europe. The lack of applications and approvals may be due to lengthy authorisation timelines coupled with fast-evolving manufacturing processes consistently requiring new applications.
4. Consumer Acceptance & Education: consumer acceptance is central to the successful adoption of precision fermentation. Despite its clear potential, the technology is often linked to negative perceptions, with terms like ‘artificial’ and ‘deceptive’ commonly associated with it. This scepticism largely stems from the use of genetically modified microorganisms in the process and concerns over potential ultra-processed food (UPF) classification. Companies will therefore have to build trust through transparency and clearly convey associated benefits, while ensuring prices remain accessible.

Precision fermentation has the potential to redefine the future of food by offering a scalable and sustainable alternative to traditional animal-based ingredients. While this innovative technology has mainly been driven by start-ups, its disruptive potential has caught the eye of major food players. As companies, governments, and consumers align around sustainability and food security goals, precision fermentation stands out as a promising tool, provided it can effectively overcome key challenges around scale-up, regulations, and consumer acceptance. In the light of recent financial setbacks experienced by leading plant-based companies (e.g. Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods), exercising strategic caution will also be crucial as precision fermentation scales up. Alcimed can support you in your projects related to precision fermentation, don’t hesitate to contact our team!

About the author:

Candice, Consultant in Alcimed’s Agri-Food team in France