Updairy harnesses precision fermentation to create sustainable, animal-free dairy proteins. They focus on technology that provides cost-effective products by engineering filamentous fungi, with the goal of maximising production while using low-cost substrates and simplifying downstream processes.
ProVeg: Updairy focuses on engineering filamentous fungi for cost-effective whey protein production. How does this technology simplify downstream processes and reduce costs for food manufacturers?
Updairy: Updairy’s platform is designed for efficiency from the ground up. By engineering filamentous fungi to secrete whey protein directly into the extracellular medium, we avoid the need for cell lysis, a step still required in some other microbial production systems. This not only streamlines the process by eliminating an entire stage, but also significantly reduces contamination from intracellular proteins, resulting in faster, cleaner, and more cost-effective purification.
Moreover, filamentous fungi offer a key metabolic advantage: they can grow on low-cost, locally sourced carbon inputs, such as agricultural byproducts, enabling a fermentation process that is both economically and environmentally sustainable. This regional adaptability is especially valuable in markets like Brazil, where we can leverage abundant biomass to reduce input costs and support local supply chains.
ProVeg: Which types of food manufacturers or product categories do you see benefiting most from integrating your precision-fermented whey protein?
Updairy: Sports-nutrition, plant-based dairy, functional-beverage, bakery, and confectionery are the earliest winners. Powders, bars, and ready-to-drink shakes retain the word ‘whey’ on their packaging while adding vegan and lactose-free claims, eliminating the chalky mouthfeel of soya or pea. Hybrid yoghurts and ice creams recapture foam and melt curves that plant isolates can’t match, enabling near one-to-one recipe swaps. Clear fitness drinks exploit its low-pH solubility; bakery and confectionary products turn brown better, bind water longer, and hit higher protein targets with less material, squeezing cost and label space simultaneously.
ProVeg: What is the biggest impact you hope Updairy will have on the food industry?
Updairy: Our ambition is to make the planet-friendly option the economic default. Each kilogram of Updairy whey replaces about 30 litres of milk, slashing greenhouse gases by about 75% and water use by more than 80%. Fermenting Brazil’s agro-industrial co-streams locally trims a US $400 million import bill and seeds a circular bio-economy anchored in rural communities. When brands can buy a better-performing, climate-smart protein for less, animal-free becomes business-as-usual rather than a niche. In doing so, we decarbonise dairy, democratise nutrition, and future-proof supply chains, all without exploiting a single cow.
Want to learn more about our Incubator startups? We’re hosting a Demo Day, where some of the most exciting startups in the plant-based and fermentation-powered food space will pitch their bold ideas to the world.
Tune in to discover game-changing innovations and powerful presentations from our 10 featured startups, gaining insights from leading investors on what excites the industry’s top minds. You’ll have the chance to network with market leaders, fire questions to the startups, and even vote for your favourite to win the Audience Award – plus, you could win a fantastic plant-based prize!
When? Thursday, 18 September/15:30–17:45 (Central European Summer Time)
Where? Online – join from anywhere
How? Get your free ticket here.
Emily Styrka
Content Creator and Writer
