General Mills uses Remilk’s technology to produce animal-free cheese

Israeli food-tech startup Remilk’s first product is about to hit supermarket shelves in the USA, according to US media outlet Calcalist, which has learned that American food giant General Mills – one of the largest food companies in the world, which manufactures and markets brands such as Cheerios, Yoplait, Pillsbury and Haagen-Dazs – has started marketing a completely vegan cream cheese with proteins ​by Remilk. The company’s proteins are identical to those produced by cows on farms, but without the use of animals and without animal components.

Remilk produces milk protein proteins with a fermentation technology, completely mimicking cow proteins within the walls of the laboratory. Cow protein DNA is copied into fermented yeast without the use of animals or animal components. Remilk produces raw materials for industry, with the aim of combining its proteins in many and varied products: cheese, yoghurt and ice cream. Until now, the company has focused on the early stages of product development, having raised approximately US$130 million in two fundraising rounds since its founding in 2019. The latest fundraising round in January of last year valued the company at US$325 million.

Remilk’s innovative proteins can completely replace the milk proteins currently found in products, but do not require the development of a completely new product by incorporating industrialized additives. The company is now launching three types of cream cheese after receiving US marketing approval in accordance with US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) requirements in June of last year. The product is now sold in the state of Minnesota after an initial launch, but its distribution is expected to expand throughout the USA throughout the year.

This is the company’s first commercial collaboration, and more are expected to launch this year. Although Remilk is a supplier of raw materials, its logo is embossed on the product packaging and will also appear on the packaging of products that will be launched in the future. “We supply raw materials that allow companies to produce a product with the same taste and texture, and it will always be easy for the consumer to identify the product packaging that contains our raw materials materials," said Aviv Wolff, CEO & Co-founder of the company. "The first product embodies our strategy: we connect with the largest companies in the world, and enter the market to be able to reach all consumers in the world, and quickly. The first product we are launching is cream cheese, but General Mills is also looking into producing other products with our proteins. With many partnerships on the table, we are looking at a number of products in various categories.”

Although many vegan 'cheese' products have been introduced to the markets in recent years, today there is a significant shortage of low-priced, high-quality products, and most of them are based on soy, oats and protein substitutes. That’s why investors are turning to companies developing products that will successfully 'break' markets and present high-quality, healthy alternatives to animal products. Remilk is committed to replacing traditional dairy products, which are based on animal farms that cause massive environmental damage and harm to animals and their welfare, with no consumer perception of difference and no additives.