UK and Korea Accelerate Cultivated Meat, AI-Designed Proteins for Crops, and Chefs Back Precision-Fermented Mozzarella

Also: Cellva Ingredients developed a cocoa alternative made from coffee husks.

Hey, welcome to issue #96 of the Better Bioeconomy newsletter. Thanks for being here! 👋🏾

After writing 95 issues, I’m finally starting to feel more comfortable sharing my own thoughts with the usual news summaries. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while, but I wasn’t sure how it would land. So, I’m giving it a shot.

Starting today, I’ll be adding my take to most of the commercial updates (but not every single one, and not the ‘Geek Zone’ or ‘Ear Food’ sections just yet). I’m still figuring out the best way to do this, so I’d love to hear from you—do you like the added commentary? Does it help? Let me know what you think!

Alright, let’s dig into the latest updates on the intersection of biotech and agrifood!

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BIO BUZZ

Products, partnerships, and regulations

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🇬🇧 UK’s Food Standards Agency launched a two-year regulatory ‘sandbox’ to fast-track approval for cultivated meat

Scroll down for South Korea’s big update!

• Backed by £1.6M from the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, the initiative aims to streamline the UK’s lengthy and expensive approval process, which currently takes over 2.5 years and costs £350,000-£500,000 per product.

• Eight startups from across the globe are taking part: Hoxton Farms, Roslin Technologies, and Uncommon Bio (UK), BlueNalu (US), Vow (Australia), Mosa Meat (Netherlands), Gourmey (France), and Vital Meat (France).

• By working with these companies and gathering scientific data, the FSA hopes to refine safety standards, improve labeling, and position the UK as a key player in sustainable food innovation. At least 15 more applications are expected in the next two years.

Source: Green Queen

Thoughts 🤔

Regulatory delays and costs have been holding back the commercialization of cultivated meat. If the UK can demonstrate a safe, efficient pathway, it will attract investment and talent, helping position the country as a leader in the alt protein industry. It also signals government validation of cultivated meat’s importance for future food security and climate goals, which lends credibility and public trust to the sector. If successful, this model could set a global precedent, encouraging other regulators to adopt similar “fast-track” programs to stay competitive.

🇧🇷 Cellva Ingredients developed a cocoa alternative made from coffee husks using proprietary microencapsulation technology

• By upcycling coffee husks, CoffeeCoa helps cut down on food waste and significantly reduces the carbon footprint of chocolate production. The ingredient is also said to be 30% cheaper than traditional cocoa powder and can replace up to 70% of cocoa in different food products.

• Originally focused on cultivated pork, the Brazilian startup has expanded its platform. It uses microencapsulation technology to extract and stabilize bioactive compounds from coffee husks, ensuring they retain their antioxidant, sensory, and functional benefits even when incorporated into food.

• Even before officially launching, Cellva has secured $1M in client commitments for over 80 tonnes annually. To meet this demand, it's setting up a manufacturing facility in Bahia, Brazil, in collaboration with “an extremely experienced operator.”

Source: Green Queen

Thoughts 🤔

This innovation tackles two big problems: the sustainability issues of chocolate (deforestation, carbon emissions, child labor in cocoa supply) and the massive waste from coffee production. By providing a cheaper, functional cocoa substitute, CoffeeCoa can help companies maintain production despite volatile cocoa prices and projected shortages. It does so while adding value (health nutrients, cost savings) and reducing environmental impact. For the chocolate/confectionery industry, this could mean more resilient supply chains and a new class of “climate-smart” chocolate products.

🇺🇸 Quercus Biosolutions emerges from stealth to disrupt crop protection using generative AI to create novel mini proteins

• Quercus Biosolutions is taking a fresh approach to crop protection by using generative AI to create entirely new mini proteins, rather than modifying existing ones. Partnering with Ordaos Bio, they design and optimize these proteins computationally before in-vitro testing to meet specific agricultural needs.

• Initially, Quercus synthesizes proteins in the lab, but for large-scale production, they shift to recombinant protein expression in microbial systems. The plan is to keep costs competitive with traditional small-molecule chemistry.

• Over the next 6-12 months, Quercus will focus on testing these designer proteins against known crop protection targets. Greenhouse trials are set to begin in 3-6 months, with potential field validation following soon after. At the same time, the company is working on building a strong intellectual property portfolio.

Source: AgFunder

Thoughts 🤔

If AI-designed proteins can indeed provide “chemical-like” efficacy with biological safety, farmers would have powerful new tools that don’t carry the environmental penalties of synthetic chemicals. This could accelerate the shift away from legacy pesticides (some of which face regulatory bans and resistance issues) to sustainable crop protection. Also, the ability to go from concept to field trials in potentially a matter of a couple of years (versus a decade for traditional pesticide R&D) means the industry could respond much faster to emerging pests or diseases.

🇺🇸 Shiru partnered with GreenLab to commercialize novel food proteins using corn-based expression system

• This partnership gives Shiru access to a high-yield, plant-based production platform that goes beyond microbial and precision fermentation, with an initial focus on CPG.

• Shiru’s AI will pinpoint high-performance proteins, while GreenLab’s corn-based expression system will help scale production, making ingredients available more quickly and efficiently.

• Corn-based protein production is considered more efficient than traditional fermentation, helping cut costs, lower energy use, and reduce environmental impact while maintaining a stable protein supply.

Source: vegconomist

Thoughts 🤔

Discovering a novel functional protein (say, a plant-based egg white substitute) is one thing but producing it economically at food-industry scale is another. By using crops as production systems, Shiru and GreenLab open a new path that complements fermentation. This is major because it offers a more reliable and cheaper supply of novel ingredients, which has been a barrier.

⚡️ More buzzes

Credits: Vivici

• 🇳🇱 Vivici received a ‘no questions’ letter from the FDA for its precision-fermented whey protein, confirming safety for use in food applications. The protein can be used in various food products, such as meal replacements, functional beverages, nutrition bars, and dairy alternatives, at levels up to 50% by weight. (Green Queen)

• 🇨🇭 V-Label launched the F-Label, the first certification focused on verifying animal-free ingredients made through fermentation. Designed to bring clarity to food tech labeling, the F-Label covers precision, biomass, and gaseous fermentation, ensuring that certified products are truly vegan-friendly. (Green Queen)

• 🇺🇸 Ohalo launched the Strawberry Consortium to create better-tasting, uniform true seed strawberries using proprietary hybrid breeding system. Ohalo's Strawberry Consortium introduces a breakthrough in strawberry breeding, making it possible for farmers to grow strawberries from true seed rather than traditional vegetative propagation, which is slow and costly. (PR Newswire)

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BIO BUCKS

Funding, M&As, and grants

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🇰🇷 South Korea’s Uiseong County secured $10M in government funding to build the country’s first dedicated cultivated food research centre

Credits: SeaWith

• Set to open in 2027, the 2,660 sq m Food Tech Research Support Center will be located in Uiseong-gun’s Bio Valley General Industrial Complex. The project is backed by ₩14.5B ($9.9M) in public investment, with an additional ₩5.25B ($3.6M) contributed by the center itself.

• The center aims to create 60 new jobs, support up to 100kg of cultivated meat production per year, and help companies navigate regulatory approvals and scale up production.

• So far, 11 companies have shown interest in joining, and the local government is rolling out initiatives to promote cultivated meat. Public opinion looks promising, 90% of Koreans are open to trying it, and ~40% support its sale in stores and restaurants.

Source: Green Queen

Thoughts 🤔

Having government-funded facilities means startups can access expensive equipment and expertise that might otherwise be out of reach, lowering the barrier to entry and innovation. This supportive environment could attract international cultivated meat companies to collaborate or set up in Korea, much like tech companies flock to innovation zones. In a broader sense, this move matters as a blueprint: it shows how a country can integrate alt proteins into its national strategy (tying it to economic development, job creation, etc).

🇺🇸 New Culture secured over $5M in signed interest from pizza restaurants ahead of the launch of mozzarella made from precision-fermented casein

• The company has partnered with top-tier US pizza chefs and restaurants, including Michelin-recognized spots, World Pizza Champions, and 50Top Pizza list winners, setting the stage for a strong market entry.

• Many chefs have already signed agreements to purchase the cheese once supply is ready, a rare move in foodservice where businesses usually wait until after launch to commit.

• The mozzarella is gluten-, soy-, and nut-free, containing 5g protein and 2g carbs per serving. It uses 28% casein (less than half of conventional mozzarella), making it cheaper while still performing well in various pizza styles and oven types.

Source: Green Queen

Thoughts 🤔

The “overwhelming” interest from top pizza chefs shows that an animal-free cheese can now meet professional standards, not just vegan niche needs. This matters because restaurants and pizzerias are key for mainstream acceptance, if the product succeeds in that arena, it can lead the way for broader consumer adoption.

🇺🇸 GigaCrop raised $4.5M in pre-seed funding to use machine learning and enzyme engineering to improve photosynthesis efficiency

• GigaCrop is using machine learning and enzyme engineering to overcome Rubisco’s limitations. Rubisco is a key enzyme in photosynthesis that helps plants convert sunlight and CO₂ into biomass.

• This allows plants to convert sunlight and CO₂ into biomass faster, reducing the need for excessive enzyme production. By improving photosynthesis, GigaCrop aims to boost farm productivity while reducing agriculture’s environmental impact.

• Originally founded as Perlumi, the startup emerged from a two-year fellowship at Berkeley Lab’s Cyclotron Road Program. Its early research was supported by DOE’s AMMTO, ARPA-E, and the Grantham Foundation.

💰 Investor: Playground Global (lead)

Source: iGrowNews

Thoughts 🤔

If GigaCrop can even partially achieve its goal of doubling yields, it would be revolutionary. Traditionally, most biotech crops have offered single-gene traits (herbicide tolerance, insect resistance). GigaCrop’s approach seems to be multi-genic and system-level. Also, GigaCrop coming out of DOE/ARPA-E funding into VC funding is an interesting model where high-risk, high-reward ag innovations get initial support from government, then move to startups for commercialization. This could encourage more public investment in far-out ag research, knowing there’s a path to market via startups if successful.

🇸🇪 Re:meat raised €1M in an oversubscribed funding round to build Scandinavia’s ‘first’ dedicated cultivated meat facility

• The Swedish startup is designing a modular production system, drawing inspiration from brewing technology to make cultivated meat more cost-competitive.

• Re:meat focuses on cultivated minced beef, making it easier for food businesses to adopt without major changes to production.

• The funds will support the establishment of "Re:meatery" which is said to be Scandinavia’s first dedicated cultivated meat facility.

💰 Investors: 8+ Ventures (lead), Kristofer Forss, Judith Wolst, Jon Persson and Erik Rosengren, and more.

Source: vegconomist

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GEEK ZONE

Scientific research papers

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🦠 Metabolic engineering of fungus achieved record-high xylitol yields from diverse carbon sources

• Researchers improved xylitol production in Pichia pastoris by fine-tuning its metabolic pathways. By combining two synthetic routes, the XU5P-dependent and D-arabitol-dependent pathways, they achieved a xylitol yield of 2.8 g/L at 0.14 g/g glucose, reported as the highest recorded in microbial systems.

• Since traditional xylitol production relies on costly xylose, this study explored glycerol and methanol as alternatives. Glycerol performed best, yielding 7.0 g/L xylitol at 0.35 g/g glycerol, surpassing glucose-based methods. Methanol showed potential but requires further optimization.

• Overexpressing key genes in the pentose phosphate pathway enhanced precursor availability for xylitol biosynthesis. Switching from NADH- to NADPH-dependent xylitol dehydrogenase resolved cofactor imbalances and increased yields.

Source: Microbial Cell Factories

🥛 Engineered microbes turn dairy waste into high-value sugars

Credits: Wen et al. (2025)

• Whey powder, a by-product of dairy processing, has high biochemical and chemical oxygen demand (BOD and COD), making its disposal a challenge. This study explored a way to turn it into valuable products instead of waste.

• Researchers engineered Bacillus subtilis to produce two key enzymes, β-galactosidase (β-Gal) and L-arabinose isomerase (LAI), which helped convert lactose into D-tagatose. Using this system, 500 g/L of lactose yielded 77.5 g/L of D-tagatose.

• To improve conversion, they engineered E. coli to express glucose isomerase (GI) and D-allulose 3-epimerase (DAE) alongside B. subtilis. This setup processed 200 g/L of whey powder, producing 29.11 g/L D-tagatose and 11.45 g/L D-allulose, with a conversion efficiency of 0.29 g rare sugars per gram of lactose.

Source: Food Research International

🫘 Microbial symbiosis boosted drought resilience in peas and fava beans

• A combination of Rhizobium laguerreae and beneficial rhizobacteria (Bacillus sp. and Enterobacter aerogenes) improved drought resilience in peas (Pisum sativum) and fava beans (Vicia faba). This microbial mix boosted plant growth, nodulation, and key biochemical responses under water stress.

• The tested strains showed plant growth-promoting abilities like phosphate solubilization, indole-3-acetic acid production, and siderophore release. Inoculated plants had higher levels of proline (up to 48 mg/g), total soluble sugars, proteins, and chlorophyll compared to those without inoculation.

• These results point to microbial inoculants as a potential tool for reducing chemical inputs while improving crop resilience. Findings also highlight the need for strain selection based on compatibility and environmental stress adaptation.

Source: Frontiers in Plant Science

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EAR FOOD

Podcast episode of the week

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🎧 Scaling out instead of scaling up is the key to making industrial biotech economically viable

Hosts: Erum Khan and Karl Schmieder
Guest: Massimo Portincaso, founder of Arsenale BioYard

• Traditional biomanufacturing models are based on biopharma, where high-value molecules justify costly production. This model fails for industrial biomanufacturing, which needs products at $5/kg instead of $5,000/g.

• One of the biggest challenges in industrial biomanufacturing is the context dependency of biology—what works in the lab may fail at scale. Arsenale BioYards is changing this by designing organisms and processes for scalable industrial conditions instead of adapting lab-scale processes to fit industrial requirements.

• Industrial biotech lags behind pharma in AI adoption. Arsenale is turning biomanufacturing into a data-driven industry, using high-throughput fermentation and AI insights to optimize strain design and processes.

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CHECK IT OUT

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🙌🏾 1,000+ climate tech startups and investors in APAC

Asia Climate Hub is a FREE database of 1,000+ climate tech startups and investors. My team at Better Bite Ventures built it, and it’s dedicated to bridging the climate tech funding gap in Asia-Pacific. 

Why did we build Asia Climate Hub? Asia-Pacific is home to over half the world’s population and accounts for 57% of global emissions, but the region receives only a fraction of global climate tech funding. Despite the abundance of transformative climate innovation, this funding mismatch threatens to stall progress in the world's highest-emitting regions right when we need it most.

How Asia Climate Hub helps:
🔍 Visibility: Helping investors discover promising startups & vice versa.
🤝🏽 Connections: Making it easier to form impactful partnerships.

Check it out!

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer, affiliates, or any organizations I am associated with.