Surat (Gujarat)-based Zero Cow Factory (ZFC) has raised $4 Million from Gujarat Venture Finance (GVFL), and others. Zero Cow Factory, an alternative protein company uses precision fermentation technology to produce animal-free milk proteins. The company has already exhibited its potential with small-scale manufacturing of animal-free A2 Beta Casein and other animal-free Casein and Whey protein types.
ZFC will use the funds raised in the latest round to accelerate R&D activities, scale up production capacity, and obtain regulatory approvals to hit the market. Besides India, it also plans to target markets such as the US and Singapore.
“Our investment in Zero Cow Factory shows the maturity of the startup ecosystem in Gujarat. Our team met Sohil and Parini at a demo day of AIC GUSEC incubation and then after numerous meetings, we decided to fund Zero Cow Factory. Gujarat’s startup ecosystem with more than 40 incubators is an ideal breeding ground for State of Art Startups. Zero Cow Factory, with its cutting-edge R&D, is one of the most innovative companies in India’s startup ecosystem. It is also to be mentioned that Gujarat Govt. had provided grants to the company during its initial stages” said Kamal Bansal, Managing Director, GVFL.
“The proteins developed by Zero Cow Factory after precision fermentation has a huge market. The commercialisation of these proteins will create many new business models within the food industry. There is an increasing population facing allergies and tolerance issues. One such market would be the children supplement market including baby foods like milk powder. Traditional milk contains lactose, which is not digestible by 70 per cent of the population. The animal-free milk protein will be a natural replacement in these industries,” said Mihir Joshi, President, GVFL.
According to ZFC, it is developing a technology to reproduce milk proteins to craft real dairy products that are ethical, safe, delicious, and identical to cow milk without any animal involved. Its smart protein is a healthy alternative to cow milk protein as it is free of lactose, growth hormones, cholesterol, and saturated fat.
GVFL was joined by Pi Ventures, GFC, and Pascual in the current round. The company had already raised pre-seed equity from Brinc and Artesian VC earlier.
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