PPTI Web Exclusive: Real dairy, no cows – how NewMoo is reshaping the next chapter of cheese and dairy

Co-founder & CEO Daphna Miller shares how NewMoo’s plant-grown caseins give dairy producers a seamless way to create animal-free products that match the taste, texture, and performance consumers expect

“Consumers aren’t looking for compromise – they’re looking for equivalence,” suggests Daphna Miller, Co-founder & CEO of NewMoo. It’s a crisp statement that captures both the company’s founding mission and the evolving reality of the alt dairy sector.

For years, the plant-based dairy market promised to reimagine cheese, milk, and yogurt without animals. But for many consumers, the reality hasn’t matched the hype. Taste, texture, melt, and protein content often fall short, leaving traditional dairy as the default choice.

Miller and her team – with more than 50 years of combined food industry experience from companies like Strauss Group, Tnuva, and Nestlé – believe they’ve found the missing link: casein. Specifically, the four casein proteins that make up 80% of the protein in cow’s milk, and which are critical to replicating the full sensory and functional experience of dairy.

“We’re creating real cow dairy proteins which provide the same dairy result but without the cow,” she explains. “It’s the same exact building blocks of dairy – taste, nutrition, functionality – just made in a far more sustainable way.”

Why casein changes everything

Caseins are the structural and functional backbone of milk and cheese. Without them, plant-based alternatives can only get so far. “Real cheese isn’t just one protein – it’s a symphony of four types of caseins: αS1, αS2, β, and κ. Each plays a unique role,” Miller says. “Without all four, you don’t get the stretch, melt, or mouthfeel that makes cheese… well, cheese.”

Before NewMoo, caseins were only found in mammalian milk. Plant-based proteins lack their structural complexity and bonding behavior, which is why vegan cheese often falls short on texture and melt. By producing all four caseins inside plants, using a plant molecular farming approach, NewMoo can recreate dairy’s full protein matrix and functionality without animals.

The approach taps into established agricultural systems, avoiding the need for costly bioreactors or complex downstream processing. This enables production at scale, at a cost structure designed to work for mainstream dairy categories.

Why liquid matters

NewMoo’s innovation isn’t just about what proteins it makes – it’s also about how it delivers them. The company’s caseins are produced in liquid form, mirroring the natural state of milk proteins.

“Powders require extra processing, which adds cost, complexity, and can reduce functionality,” Miller explains. “Most dairy production lines are built for liquid milk, not powders. By delivering liquid caseins, we integrate seamlessly into existing cheese-making and dairy processes, with no expensive retooling required.”

She is blunt about the limitations of powder-based approaches: high production costs, risk of lost functionality, and the need for significant recipe or equipment changes. “Integrating milk protein powder into existing dairy production is a major challenge – and often leads to products that are inferior in taste and texture, more expensive, and ultimately less satisfying,” she says.

It’s not about replacing everything animal-based overnight – it’s about evolution. The same way plant-based milks went from niche to mainstream, animal-free dairy can follow – if the experience is right

In contrast, NewMoo’s plant molecular farming approach grows real milk proteins directly inside plants. Through a unique ‘black box’ process, NewMoo produces ‘NewMoo Milk’ that mimics the taste, functionality and nutritional values of milk that dairy producers can drop straight into their existing workflows and make the same great-tasting dairy products.

Meeting dairy producers where they are

While many alt protein companies position themselves as disruptors, NewMoo has taken a collaborative stance. “We don’t want to disrupt dairy – we want to empower it,” says Miller. “Consumers still love real dairy, but they’re also demanding change. Our mission is to give producers a financially viable, scalable way to meet that demand without reinventing their operations.”

This positioning has resonated with traditional dairy stakeholders. NewMoo has already signed Letters of Intent with dairy organizations keen to explore the technology. “When they realize we’re not here to replace them, but to help them future-proof their business, the conversation changes,” she says.

The company’s ‘drop-in’ model is key. By creating a liquid casein base ('NewMoo milk') that performs identically to the animal-derived counterpart, NewMoo enables producers to diversify their ranges – targeting flexitarians, lactose-intolerant consumers, climate-conscious shoppers, and those concerned about animal welfare – without sacrificing quality or familiarity.

“By offering real cow dairy proteins made without cows, we open up entirely new markets for dairy producers without asking them to give up what they do best,” Miller says.

Why consumers are leaving plant-based dairy – and how to win them back

For Miller, the current plateau in plant-based dairy sales is no mystery. “People want better for their health, the planet, and animals – but they also want something that tastes and performs like the dairy they know,” she says. “When products fall short on texture, melt, or nutrition, people revert to what works.”

The core mistake, in her view, has been treating ‘plant-based’ as the goal rather than the means. “The industry focused on plant-based as an end in itself, instead of asking: does this actually behave like dairy?”

To regain momentum, she believes the focus must shift from ‘substitute’ to ‘equivalent’. “Consistency, convenience, and no compromise,” she says. “If a product delivers the dairy experience people love and aligns with their values, they’ll stick with it. If it’s just ‘close enough’, they’ll drift back.”

The science – and the stakes

Producing all four caseins is not just a technical milestone, it’s a commercial one. It means NewMoo can match dairy’s structural complexity, enabling the gelation, emulsification, and water-holding properties essential to cheese-making. It also means dairy producers can enter the animal-free space with confidence, knowing their products will behave exactly as expected in recipes, machinery, and consumer hands.

“By producing all four caseins, we replicate the full matrix of dairy, unlocking authentic taste, melt, stretch, and creaminess that plant proteins alone just can’t achieve,” Miller explains. “Consumers enjoy the same taste and texture, but without lactose, hormones, or cholesterol.”

Miller hints at further breakthroughs on the horizon. “We have exciting R&D news coming soon that will push us even further ahead in terms of yield and functionality. It’s a significant scientific milestone, and it will reinforce the cost efficiency for dairy producers we’ve been talking about.”

Blind spots, lessons, and what’s next

Looking across the alt dairy landscape, Miller sees two recurring blind spots: too much focus on novelty over market fit, and solutions that ignore scale or industry realities. “A product that only works in a lab won’t change the market,” she says. “Innovation is only valuable if it meets the bar consumers are used to – and can be made at scale.”

She also stresses that bringing animal-free dairy to market still requires deep knowledge of traditional dairy. “It’s not enough to innovate – you have to work with existing systems, manufacturing lines, and ingredient behaviors. That’s why our team includes dairy veterans who understand what producers actually need.”

For Miller, success over the next three to five years means NewMoo caseins are used in mainstream cheese and dairy production globally – and that ‘real dairy without cows’ becomes a familiar, trusted concept.

But she also wants to change the conversation. “Too often, ‘without cows’ sounds like a loss,” she says. “What we’re doing is gaining: sustainability, flexibility, and new ways of feeding the world, with all the dairy goodness still intact.”

If NewMoo can deliver on that vision, the alt dairy category might finally match its promise – and give consumers the equivalence they’ve been waiting for.