Vivici Secures €32.5M Series A Funding to Advance Precision Fermentation of Next-Gen Dairy Proteins

On February 25, Dutch precision fermentation company Vivici announced the completion of a €32.5 million (approximately RMB 247 million) Series A financing round, led by Invest-NL and APG (representing pension fund ABP), with support from regional economic development agency InnovationQuarter and existing shareholders DSM-Firmenich and Fonterra. The funding will be used to expand into new international markets, launch its second dairy protein ingredient (lactoferrin), and establish long-term production capacity.

Vivici was founded in December 2022 by global chemical giant DSM and global dairy giant Fonterra, and announced the completion of its angel funding round in August 2023. The company focuses on combining DSM’s precision fermentation expertise with Fonterra’s dairy technology, leveraging years of joint technology and application development to accelerate the commercialization of animal-free dairy proteins. Headquartered at the Delft Biotech Campus in the Netherlands—the world’s largest open innovation center—it also operates a dairy protein application laboratory within NIZO Food Research, one of the world’s most advanced food industry research organizations.

Among the myriad of biomanufacturing companies, although Vivici was founded relatively late, it is backed by two global giants, Fonterra and DSM. Leveraging its proprietary protein platform, Vivitein™, the company launched its commercialized product, fermentation-derived whey protein (beta-lactoglobulin), for customer purchase as early as February 2024. This product has also obtained GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) certification in the United States. Stephan van Sint Fiet, CEO of Vivici, stated that the company has signed its first procurement agreements for beta-lactoglobulin and plans to make a significant entry into the market in the second half of 2025 with a high-value dairy protein—lactoferrin. Through precision fermentation, Vivici aims to deliver more cost-effective and efficient protein products to the industry.

Protein is playing an increasingly important role in the nutritional awareness of global consumers. According to Innova’s report, “Current Status and Future Trends of the Global Protein Market,” 42% of consumers worldwide consider protein the most important nutrient, second only to vitamins. Meanwhile, with the continuous emergence of innovative plant-based products, approximately half of consumers express openness to novel protein technologies. Among these, lactoferrin, which Vivici is set to prominently launch next, has become one of the most high-profile ingredients in human and animal nutrition in recent years, achieving innovative development through precision fermentation technology only in the past few years.

In August 2022, Singaporean biotechnology company TurtleTree announced the production of lactoferrin, becoming the world’s first company to manufacture sustainable lactoferrin using precision fermentation technology. In May 2023, Helaina, a biotechnology enterprise based in New York, USA, announced that its developed lactoferrin was nearing readiness for large-scale commercial production. The company is currently developing a precision fermentation technology platform to produce bioactive proteins. In December 2024, Australian company All G became the second company globally, after Singapore’s TurtleTree, to obtain “GRAS” (Generally Recognized As Safe) certification in the United States for animal-free lactoferrin. All G plans to commercialize its lactoferrin and expects its production costs to be lower than those of dairy-derived lactoferrin.

Lactoferrin, which has been frequently reported as a success story in the industry, is a bioactive protein naturally present in bovine milk and human breast milk. It offers multiple health benefits for the human body and is widely used in infant formula, functional foods, and dietary supplements. Globally, approximately half of all lactoferrin is utilized in infant nutrition, while demand in the adult nutrition market is also growing rapidly.

Furthermore, in clinical applications, lactoferrin has expanded from nutritional supplementation to precision medicine, playing a significant role in immunomodulation, antibacterial activity, antitumor effects, anti-inflammation, and antioxidation. Particularly in immunomodulation, as a key molecule of innate immunity, lactoferrin plays a central role in inflammatory processes. It can enhance cytotoxic immunity and block receptors for tumorigenic inflammatory mediators, thus being regarded as a potential candidate adjuvant for standard anticancer therapies.

According to the "2020 White Paper on Consumption Trends of Imported Maternal and Infant Products" released by CBNData, lactoferrin has demonstrated rapid growth in consumption within the subcategory of infant nutritional products on Tmall Global. Data shows that the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of the consumption scale for dairy products and milk powder containing lactoferrin exceeded 300% over the past two years. Additional forecasts predict that the value of the global lactoferrin market will more than triple over the next decade, rising from $247 million in 2023 to $711.9 million.

However, the production process for traditional lactoferrin is complex and costly. Typically, it takes 10 tons of raw milk to extract just one kilogram of lactoferrin, making its scarcity and high price self-evident; at its peak, the international market price has exceeded RMB 20,000 per kilogram. Hence, lactoferrin is often hailed as “liquid gold.” If Vivici successfully launches its precision fermentation-derived lactoferrin products in the second half of 2025 as planned, it will become one of the few companies to commercialize this novel product, entering the rapidly expanding blue ocean market for “liquid gold.”

Vivici is not solely focused on lactoferrin; several other products are also set for rapid commercialization. According to Vivici CEO van Sint Fiet, “There are technical and market synergies between β-lactoglobulin and lactoferrin. In the production of β-lactoglobulin and lactoferrin, Vivici leverages its proprietary precision fermentation protein platform, Vivitein™, utilizing the same production host and similar upstream and downstream processes, which significantly reduces the time-to-market and costs for new products. The advantage of developing and manufacturing based on a platform technology is that the time-to-market and launch costs for the second, third, and fourth proteins will be substantially reduced.

As early as February 2024, Vivici launched its first commercialized product, Vivitein BLG, a fermented whey protein (β-lactoglobulin).According to the company, Vivitein BLG offers significant environmental advantages over traditional milk protein production, including an 86% reduction in water usage and a 68% decrease in carbon emissions. Van Sint Fiet, CEO of Vivici, stated, “Beta-lactoglobulin is renowned for its rapid absorption. It contains 29% branched-chain amino acids and 16% leucine, making it ideal for fitness enthusiasts focused on muscle growth and recovery.”

Currently, Vivici’s β-lactoglobulin has obtained GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status in the United States. The company has secured its first offtake agreements for β-lactoglobulin, targeting applications such as protein powders, protein beverages, and protein bars, as well as alternative dairy products including ice cream, cream cheese, milk, and yogurt. Furthermore, Vivici has signed purchase agreements for this product with its initial customers.

To address the upcoming production capacity challenges for beta-lactoglobulin, Vivici is currently collaborating with small-scale production facilities in Europe and has successfully completed a trial run at the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant in Ghent, Belgium. Equipped with a 75,000-liter fermenter, this facility underscores Vivici’s capability for large-scale industrial production. Van Sint Fiet revealed that the company is also seeking partners in North America to further expand its production capacity.

Lactoferrin is the second key product being advanced by Vivici. Van Sint Fiet stated that this product is expected to launch as early as the second half of 2025, initially for general-purpose applications in food and beverages, and potentially in personal care and cosmetics. It will gradually expand into more strictly regulated sectors, such as infant nutrition and foods for vulnerable populations.

Among the leading and star enterprises in biomanufacturing, Vivici is not an early entrant. However, leveraging precision fermentation technology, it has rapidly gained official certification in the novel protein sector and secured commercial orders. The emergence of precision fermentation technology is transforming the production methods for novel protein products, represented by lactoferrin.

Alternative proteins refer to novel products developed, manufactured, and supplied through technological advancements and ingredient innovation. These products are designed to match or even surpass traditional animal protein derived from livestock in terms of safety, taste, affordability, health benefits, efficiency, and sustainability. The production of alternative proteins encompasses plant-based protein processing, animal cell culture, and microbial fermentation. Among these, fermentation technology has garnered significant attention due to its high production efficiency and broad applicability. It can be used to cultivate microorganisms as a primary source of protein for food purposes, or to incorporate microbial-derived flavor compounds, enzymes, and fats into plant-based products or cultured meat.

Precision fermentation has emerged as a key focus in the fermentation industry in recent years. By genetically engineering microorganisms (such as yeast), this technology enables protein production without relying on livestock. Precision fermentation offers stable supply, consistent quality, and more affordable pricing for novel proteins, thereby unlocking the market potential of products like lactoferrin in both existing and new markets. A notable example is Perfect Day, a pioneer in precision fermentation, which produces non-animal whey protein through fermentation for use in products such as ice cream and cheese. This approach not only preserves the taste and texture of traditional dairy products but also significantly reduces resource consumption, cutting water usage and lowering carbon emissions by up to 97%.

According to Precedence Research, the global precision fermentation market size was valued at USD 1.93 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 63.85 billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 41.89%. Publicly available data indicates that in 2021, there were 84 overseas alternative protein fermentation companies, while China had 13 such enterprises.

In terms of quantity, although China has fewer companies deploying precision fermentation for novel proteins and remains in an early stage of development compared to Europe and the United States, the country’s precision fermentation industry is experiencing rapid growth and is gradually becoming a key player in global food technology innovation. According to data released by the Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology, the annual growth rate of China’s precision fermentation market has reached 25%.

In addition, prominent Chinese companies active in this field, such as YuanYu Bio, Changjin Bio, and Demote Bio, have all secured financing in recent years. For instance, YuanYu Bio announced the completion of its nearly RMB 100 million Series A funding round in 2023; Changjin Bio announced the completion of its Series A+ funding round in 2023; and Demote Bio announced the completion of its nearly RMB 100 million Pre-Series A funding round in 2022.

In China, with the rise of synthetic biology in recent years, precision fermentation has become a new focus in the nation’s food safety policies. It is reported that China is developing classification and regulatory measures for novel foods and related products obtained through precision fermentation technology. Although novel proteins produced via precision fermentation are bioequivalent to naturally occurring proteins at the molecular level and significantly simplify production processes—thereby reducing costs—the market remains dominated by animal- and plant-based proteins, and precision-fermented lactoferrin has yet to achieve large-scale market penetration. Furthermore, consumer education and supply chain development face significant challenges. Nevertheless, it is easy to foresee that, driven by technological advancements and continuously rising market demand, an explosion in this industry is just around the corner.

References:

China Food News, “Precision Fermentation Technology Boosts Innovative Development of Lactoferrin”

SynBio, “Only 4 Companies in China Have Made Moves: Is Precision Fermentation the Next Blue Ocean for Novel Protein Production?”

SynBio, “Fonterra and DSM Joint Venture Completes $34 Million Seed Funding to Enter Lactoferrin Market”