In a move towards sustainable food production, Royal Cosun, a leading international agricultural cooperative, has solidified its commitment to the future of fermentation-enabled food ingredients. By investing €3.1/ $3.5 M into the biotech scale-up Planetary SA, Cosun is positioning itself at the forefront of food technology innovations. This partnership underscores Cosun’s strategy to expand its food ingredients portfolio, focusing on sustainable, cost-effective production methods that align with rising consumer demand for plant-based foods.
Fermentation: The Key to Future-Proof Food Ingredients
Fermentation has long been a method for enhancing food preservation and flavor, but its role in today’s food industry is evolving dramatically. Now, it is being harnessed to produce alternative proteins and plant-based ingredients at scale. This is where Cosun’s partnership with Planetary becomes significant.
As one of Europe’s largest sugar beet cooperatives, Cosun has unparalleled access to sugar and related by-products—essential components in fermentation processes. The company’s expertise and Planetary’s cutting-edge BioBlocks™ platform set the stage for transformative food production techniques. The BioBlocks™ technology will help convert agricultural side-streams into valuable mycoprotein, a high-quality protein derived from fungi that is an alternative to traditional meat and dairy proteins.
According to Thijs Bosch, Managing Director of Cosun Protein, Planetary’s advanced biotechnology will be instrumental in fulfilling Cosun’s ambition to become a leader in fermentation-enabled ingredients. “This investment and partnership underline our commitment to the goals we set for ourselves in our Unlock strategy,” Bosch emphasized. Indeed, this partnership signals a new chapter for Cosun’s innovative approaches to sustainability.
Addressing the “Fermentation Bottleneck”
Planetary is tackling a critical challenge in the food industry: the fermentation bottleneck. This refers to the scarcity of infrastructure that can accommodate the specific needs of food-grade fermentation at an industrial scale. While fermentation has been used in pharmaceuticals for decades, existing facilities are often not optimized for food production. Planetary’s BioBlocks™ platform offers a solution by enabling more efficient scaling of microbial fermentation, opening new avenues for alternative protein production.
This collaboration also signals the potential for broader industry applications. As the CEO of Planetary, David Brandes, stated, “Through its symbiotic engineering playbook, Planetary will enable the conversion of Cosun’s feedstock into higher-value mycoprotein ingredients.” The efficiency gains from this process not only promise to bring down costs but also to make plant-based proteins more accessible to global markets.
The Broader Landscape: Fermentation Innovations and Investments
Cosun’s investment in Planetary comes at a time when the food technology industry is seeing increased interest in fermentation-derived ingredients. Precision fermentation and biomass fermentation are increasingly being adopted to produce a wide range of alternative proteins, from meat substitutes to dairy alternatives. Investors and industry stakeholders recognize that these technologies are crucial for addressing global food security challenges while minimizing the environmental impact of traditional farming methods.
Recent reports show that fermentation offers several advantages over other protein production methods, such as cultivated meat, due to its ability to scale more easily and efficiently. Companies like Planetary are at the forefront of developing the infrastructure necessary to produce these proteins at a commercial scale, using agricultural by-products like those available from Cosun.
The industry’s push toward more sustainable and scalable solutions has drawn significant investment. Public sector initiatives, such as the UK’s £12M investment into fermentation hubs, further highlight the growing importance of microbial fermentation in reshaping global food systems.
Cosun’s strategic partnership with Planetary reflects a broader shift towards more sustainable and innovative food production methods. By investing in fermentation technology, the agricultural cooperative is not only positioning itself as a leader in plant-based food ingredients but also contributing to the global effort to make food production more sustainable. As fermentation continues to evolve, the collaboration between Cosun and Planetary offers a glimpse into the future of food—one where innovation and sustainability go hand in hand.
This investment is just the beginning of a new era in food production, where agricultural by-products, microbial technologies, and cutting-edge fermentation processes redefine what’s possible in the realm of alternative proteins.
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