While the food technology investment sector has established its own direction over the last year, New Zealand-based food technology company Milk has been busy staying ahead of the curve in molecular agriculture technology. This aggressive strategy puts the company “about three to four years ahead of emerging competitors,” CEO Amos Palfreyman told TechCrunch.
“Milk not only aims to overcome the challenges posed by a changing climate that impacts traditional dairy production, but also broadens its focus to address the critical issues of food security and nutrition. ,” Palfreeman said in an email interview.
In 2022, TechCrunch plans to develop a molecular farming technology that will program plant cells to become mini-factories for producing proteins and other molecules, such as fats and sugars, traditionally made by animals. He introduced the company, which has raised $2.4 million in funding.
Milk is not the only company using molecular agriculture technology to produce dairy products. Moza Foods and Nobel Foods are similar, but Palfreyman says his company focuses on business-to-business transactions, modifying both proteins and fats in the same plant. We also chose to use climate-resistant safflower as our main crop.
Miruku's management, from left: Thomas Buchanan, Ira Bing, Amos Palfreeman, and Abbey Thompson. Image credits: Milk
Since the seed round, the company has advanced its proprietary dairy seed system. Initially, Miruku focused on programming plants to produce milk proteins that could be extracted from seeds. This approach was subsequently expanded to exploit interactions between recombinant dairy casein and natural plant proteins, with or without improved fatty acid profiles.
“This breakthrough allows us to utilize a larger portion of the seed, turning it into a variety of versatile ingredients tailored for the food and beverage industry,” Palfreyman said. “We have now reached several important proof-of-concept milestones that demonstrate the viability and potential of dairy seed systems.”
During that time, the company tripled the size of its team and developed relationships with many food manufacturing partners for co-development opportunities. Additionally, Miruku has expanded its footprint not only to Australia, which was chosen as the starting point for its initial market entry, but also to Israel.
Today, the company announced a $5 million round in what Palfreeman called a pre-Series A round. The deal was led by Motion Capital, with participation from seed round investor Movac and new investor NZVC. He declined to disclose the valuation, but said it was an “upgrade.”
The new capital will allow Milk to expand its crop development efforts. This includes a partnership with CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization), the Australian government agency responsible for scientific research. Palfreyman said the company therefore plans to introduce modified safflower varieties into field trials in Australia.
“Above all, our priority is to advance our technology and move forward in response to the market,” Palfreyman said. “This includes expanding our footprint in Australia and looking to establish a presence in the United States.”