This article is part of a blog series introducing the startup teams of the EIT Food Accelerator Network Helsinki 2024 programme.
When we mention ‘fats’, our thoughts immediately go to food, and for good reason: fats are responsible for the delicious taste and texture of foods we love.
What’s perhaps less appreciated is that fat ingredients are ubiquitous in our lives; beyond food applications, they are also essential ingredients in many cosmetic products such as hand creams, body lotions, and even lipstick.
Sourcing: A big fat problem
The fats we use in industry come from two main sources – animals and plants, and both of these sources have significant drawbacks.
Animal agriculture is responsible for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions and many consumers are increasingly seeking animal-free options. Furthermore, plant-based fats such as palm or coconut come with their own environmental challenges, being strongly associated with deforestation, biodiversity loss, and habitat destruction.
Moreover, plant-derived fat ingredients often do not deliver the same experience as the animal-derived ones for which they are meant to substitute, as they have different compositions, meaning they cannot reproduce the functionality and flavour that may be desired.
Without the right fats, animal-free meat substitutes don’t taste quite right; animal-free burgers lack the flavour and delicious taste of their meat-based counterparts. In addition, in the personal care and cosmetics space, fats can provide texture, and are responsible for the moisturising properties of our face and body lotions. Furthermore, some fats and lipids have bioactive properties that can enhance the health of the skin.
That’s where Melt&Marble comes in.
The precision-fermented solution
Using precision fermentation, where yeast metabolism is rewired to turn sugars into specific fats, Melt&Marble is able to produce fats with properties precisely tailored to suit a range of applications.
Through this technology, Melt&Marble is able to produce designer fats that include animal fat ‘replicas’ for use in meat and dairy alternatives, as well as fats with unique bioactive properties for use in personal care and cosmetics applications.
Beyond these first markets, Melt&Marble’s platform can also be used to produce better and more sustainable fats for use in chocolate confectionery, bakery and even specialised nutrition applications. Entirely new fats can be also be created, which have compositions that are not found in nature, giving rise to a whole new universe of research.
Powering ahead
Born within the prestigious Chalmers University of Technology, Melt&Marble recently opened its new headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden. The new headquarters incorporates state-of-the-art microbiology labs, pilot-scale bioreactors, and a food application test kitchen.
Melt&Marble also recently secured a partnership that will enable commercial scale production and hit some incredible technology and scale-up milestones. The company is now testing its products in real customer applications in both food and personal care, and is planning a first market launch as soon as 2025.
Melt&Marble at EIT
Melt&Marble was delighted to be included in EIT’s Food Accelerator Network. Its mission is to enable the transition to a more sustainable agri-food system and the support from EIT FAN and its corporate partners is helping to make this mission a reality.
To learn more about Melt&Marble, visit our website here.
Written by Thomas Cresswell, Chief Business Officer at Melt&Marble
Thomas Cresswell, CBO at Melt&Marble
