DAIYA ANNOUNCES MULTI-MILLION INVESTMENT IN FERMENTATION TECH FOR “NEXT-GENERATION” PLANT-BASED CHEESE
Daiya announced today a multimillion-dollar investment in a new natural fermentation technology that it claims will usher in the next generation of plant-based cheese.
Instead of relying on precision fermentation to produce dairy cheese with milk proteins, Daiya’s new fermentation breakthrough, according to the company, combines traditional cheesemaking methods with modern technology to continue producing plant-based cheese with similar properties to dairy cheese.
Raising the standard
Daiya claims it can now create a new category of cheese that outperforms other available vegan products in terms of taste, melting, and stretching.
“This is one of the largest investments in next-generation plant-based cheese since we started the company 15 years ago,” said Daiya CEO Michael Watt. “This is Daiya raising the bar for what consumers can expect from the category.”
According to Daiya, applying this fermentation technology to plant-based products on a large scale is an exceptional accomplishment for both itself and the entire plant-based industry.
The company will install a fermentation site within its “state-of-the-art” production facility in Burnaby, British Columbia, which is said to be the largest stand-alone plant-based facility in North America, to produce this line of next-generation vegan cheese.
The company already offers a variety of dairy-free products, including two new oat-based grilling Mediterranean-inspired kinds of cheese, plant-based cheese shreds, cream cheese, and classic, jalapeno, smoked, and cheddar blocks.
Daiya announced a partnership with Hyundai Green Food in January 2022 to distribute its dairy-free cheese line in South Korean markets.
R&D Director, Advanced Research and Technology at Daiya, Jamie Siu, said: “We’ve worked with experts to develop a facility and formulation that is world-class.
For our team to be able to deliver, this fermented vegan product has been no small task. It has involved extensive research and development in the traditional art of cheesemaking, applied in a plant-based setting.”
The company intends to launch its new fermented cheese line by the end of the year, and the formula will be used in shreds and slices.