Mylkcubator: More Than Mylk, a program focusing on alternative food ingredients made with cellular agriculture technologies by the Spanish companies Pascual Innoventures and Eatable Adventures, has introduced its next cohort of startups focusing on sustainable ingredients.
Pascual Innoventures has invested over $2 million in the Mylkcubator program across all three editions, including a recent investment in the precision fermentation startup Onego Bio. According to the firm, the Mylkcubator ecosystem has generated a total value of $305 million and raised $104.5 million, “underscoring the success and global significance of the program.”
Gabriel Torres Pascual, CEO of Pascual Innoventures, commented, “Our goal is to continue identifying and supporting innovative companies that can offer sustainable solutions to the current challenges in the food sector while strengthening an ecosystem poised to lead the next generation of food technologies.”
Beyond alt-milk
Mylkcubator was launched by the Spanish dairy giant Pascual, run by the group’s Corporate Venture unit, Pascual Innoventures, to support innovative startups disrupting the dairy value chain with early-stage investments.
The third edition has broadened its scope after two successful editions supporting cell ag startups, including DeNovo Dairy, Zero Cow Factory, Real Deal Milk, Ergo BioScience, and Maolac. The program now includes functional ingredients, egg components, coffee, fats, cocoa, sodium, and sweetener substitutes.
The following five startups have been selected for their potential to impact the sustainability of the food system:
- Innomy (Spain-Argentina): Develops mushroom-based alternatives to meat, using mycelium and upcycled by-products from various industries.
- Cultzyme (Spain): Develops innovative bioreactors for enhanced bioprocesses, cell growth, and fermentation.
- Nosh.bio (Germany): Harnesses biomass fermentation, upcycled waste streams, and retrofitted facilities to develop scalable and affordable mycoproteins.
- California Cultured (USA): Develops cell-based coffee and cacao using plant cell cultivation.
- Onego Bio (USA-Finland): Leverages precision fermentation to produce egg white alternatives, enabling vegan egg-white products and lowering environmental impact by up to 90%.
Itziar Ortega, Senior VP of Global Operations at Eatable Adventures, shared, “The third edition of Mylkcubator reaffirms the significant impact of this program on the global Foodtech ecosystem. Through its investments, Pascual Innoventures exemplifies the industry’s strong commitment to open innovation models that successfully address major challenges in the food sector.
“At Eatable Adventures, we are proud to drive these collaborations, promoting the adoption of new technologies and facilitating a sustainable and efficient transition towards a more innovative food system.”