Founders of a new cellular agriculture company, Ryan Pandya and Perumal Gandhi, may have just had their ‘Perfect Day‘, career-wise. The business, which creates cow-free, vegan-friendly dairy protein, has raised $24.7 million in a Series A funding from Temasek, a Singapore state-owned investment company.
Temasek has also invested in plant-based meat company Impossible Foods and vegan leather makers, Modern Meadow. Pandya’s goal is to have Perfect Day’s vegan-friendly milk products enjoyed by the masses and have them stocked in every grocery store aisle, for vegans and dairy-lovers alike.
Gandhi adds that the team is excited that they can now have patented technology and license this out to other businesses, saving interested parties time, energy, and the resources required to develop something similar themselves. Additionally, Temasek’s extensive network can help accelerate the commercialization of Perfect Day’s products, making them available to consumers sooner.
Developing dairy products “without the use of a single cow”, or any other animal ingredients, is no easy task. Perfect Day’s website says they use yeast and sugar in “a process similar to craft brewing” to create ‘dairy protein’. Their milk is high in protein, lactose-free, cholesterol-free and ‘earth friendly’.
A 2015 preliminary analysis by Mark Steer of the University of West England, compared the environmental impact of Perfect Day’s animal-free milk and traditional cow milk. The research affirmed the huge potential that cellular agriculture has to severely “disrupt the dairy industry” as we know it. When compared to dairy milk in supermarkets today, Perfect Day’s milk products are expected produce 84% fewer greenhouse gas emissions, use 98% less water, take up 91% less land and require 65% less energy to produce.
An overwhelming number of people opting to go vegan for animal welfare, environmental and health reasons. However, many maintain a strong desire for the famed taste of dairy products. Perfect Day and their cellular agriculture competitors are well on the right track to ensure the future of dairy is produced in labs and devoid of farming and animals, ultimately leading to a cleaner, green future.
Image Credit: Perfect Day
This post was last modified on December 15, 2020 7:00 am