Standing Ovation Raises €3.75M for Fermented Casein, Eyes 2025 USA Launch with New CEO
French biotech Standing Ovation, which specializes in precision-fermented casein for animal-free dairy, announces it has raised €3.75 million in Series A+ funding. The funds will accelerate the company’s growth and the distribution and sales of its flagship protein ingredient — Advanced Casein — in the USA in 2025. This new capital adds to the €12 million secured in the original round, led by Astanor Ventures in 2022. Peakbridge, Seventure, Good Startup, …
MAASH to Launch First Mycoprotein Factory in France Following Metex NOOVISTA Acquisition
Belgian biotechnology startup MAASH announces it has acquired the French biotech Metex NOOVISTA to launch what it claims will be France’s first mycoprotein factory and its first European production plant. Metex NOOVISTA, a METEX Group subsidiary, specializes in fermented functional ingredients. Its factory is in Carling, on the Chemesis industrial platform in Saint-Avold, at the heart of the Grand Est region and the Moselle Department. Under the expertise of CEO …
Danone to Open Precision Fermentation Center ‘Biotech Open Platform’ in France with Strategic Players
French dairy giant Danone, engineered materials group Michelin, the US startup DMC Biotechnologies, and Crédit Agricole Centre France have partnered to create the Biotech Open Platform. The new center will focus on precision fermentation, a technology pivotal for innovation in agri-food and materials with the potential to address the need for sustainable alternatives to animal and fossil-based products, according to the announcement. Located in the commune of Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne, at the …
Bon Vivant Appoints Antoine Baule as Chairman of its Board of Directors
Bon Vivant, a French startup in the animal-free dairy sector, announces the appointment of Antoine Baule as the new Chairman of its Board of Directors. Baule is the former director general of Lesaffre, a key player in the global fermentation industry, and brings a wealth of experience in agro-industry and biotechnology to the firm. Lesaffre has been a leader in the fermentation sector for over a century, boasting a turnover …
Standing Ovation Receives €3M from French Government and Bpifrance to Scale Non-Animal Caseins for Novel Dairy Products
French biotech Standing Ovation has secured €3 million in funding from the French government and Bpifrance for its CASPEX project: the production at scale of precision fermentation-derived caseins for novel dairy products. The French government is supporting Standing Ovation with €2 million over 20 months as part of the “Agri-food Resilience and Capacity” call for projects run by the national investment plan France 2030, which funds innovations for healthy, sustainable, and traceable …
French Parliamentarians Propose Law to Ban Cultivated Meat, Calling it “Junk Food”
The Republicans (Les Républicains) party of France has introduced a bill in the National Assembly to prohibit the production and marketing of cultivated meat in the country, reports European Biotechnology. “In the interests of human health, animal health, and the environment, it is forbidden to produce, process, and market synthetic meat anywhere in France,” reads the proposed law. The bill’s proponents argue that cultivated meat companies promise to replace low-quality imported meat …
France’s Vital Meat Submits Pre-Market Dossier to Launch Cultivated Chicken in Singapore
French cultivated meat company, Vital Meat, announces it has submitted a novel food pre-market regulatory dossier to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) seeking approval to launch its cultivated chicken, Vital Chicken, in the country. The biotech stated that Singapore‘s progressive thinking and willingness to embrace new technologies position it as an ideal market to launch its safe and delicious product. If Vital Chicken receives the SFA’s pre-market approval, Vital Meat will become …
Arbiom Unveils Yusto Yeast Protein as Part of “New Wave of Protein Ingredients”
French-American sustainable protein producer Arbiom has unveiled a new product, Yusto yeast protein. Produced using fermentation, Yusto is fiber-rich while also containing B vitamins and all the essential amino acids. Described as part of a “new wave of protein ingredients”, Yusto is already globally approved for use in food. It can be used in meat and dairy alternatives, snacks, sauces, specialized nutrition products, and more. According to Arbiom, one of …
Vital Meat: France’s First Cultivated Meat Startup Achieves Scaling Milestone in Chicken Cultivation
Vital Meat, describing itself as France’s first cultivated meat startup, has announced a strategic partnership with Biowest, one of Europe’s leading producers of cell culture media from animal sources, to scale the production of cultivated chicken. Biowest has developed a customized serum-free medium for Vital Meat’s cultivated chicken platform that has allowed it to achieve successful pilot productions of cultivated chicken in 250-liter bioreactors. According to the French startup, it can …
Cow’s Milk Alternative for Infants: Nūmi Raises €3M to Develop Cell-Cultivated Breast Milk
French startup Nūmi (previously MUMilk), a biotech pioneering the production of cell-cultured breast milk, announces it has raised €3 million in pre-seed funding from a group of investors including Heartcore Capital, HCVC, Financière Saint-James, Kima Ventures, and Kost Capital. The new capital will support the expansion of the company’s scientific teams, facilitate its next phase of R&D, and progress toward marketing the company and its products. Nūmi, setting out to …