‘Synthetic’ milk made without cows coming soon to Australian supermarket shelves
Plant-based milk alternatives have soared in popularity in recent years
But a new biotechnology to produce ‘synthetic milk’ could disrupt the market
The product is chemically identical to cow’s milk, but is made in a laboratory
Proponents say it’s ‘clean and green’ with less environmental impact
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Synthetic milk made in labs could soon be on Australian supermarket shelves, alongside traditional cow’s milk and the plant-based alternatives that have become hugely popular.
The new type of milk isn’t made from cows or goats, but may have the same biochemical structure — and taste — thanks to an emerging field of biotechnology known as “precision fermentation.”
Companies that support the new product say it is more sustainable and less harmful to the environment than traditional dairy farming.
Perfect Day, a company based in the United States, makes all animal-free protein from microflora, which is used in commercial products such as ice cream, milk and protein powder.
Synthetic milk, which is made in a lab but is identical to cow’s milk, could soon be on Australian supermarket shelves
The frontrunner in Australia is Eden Brew, based in Werribee, Victoria, which aims to have products on Australian shelves by 2023.
The company is backed by the venture capital unit of CSIRO and Norco, Australia’s oldest dairy cooperative, and the company is helping to bottle and market the product.
Eden Brew CEO Jim Fader claims his synthetic milk is “indistinguishable from dairy milk.”
He said the company took a “clean and green” approach by targeting consumers who wanted to reduce their impact on the environment.
Another company, All G Foods, raised $25 million this month to accelerate development of synthetic milk, which aims to be cheaper than cow’s milk in Australian stores within seven years.
Some synthetic milk products such as protein powder, milk and ice cream already exist abroad (photo)
Consumers have already embraced traditional plant-based alternatives to dairy milk in recent years, with soy, almond, rice and oat milks taking up more and more shelf space.
Oat milk in particular has soared in popularity worldwide, valued at $13 billion in May, one of the biggest players, the Swedish company Oatley.
Cafe market analyst Sean Edwards of Cafe Pulse surveyed 900 coffee sellers in 2021 and found that a quarter of all coffee orders contained plant-based milk.
He said the most popular option was almond, followed by soy and oats — but those oats were only recently introduced and were on the rise.
“Two years ago oat milk was 0.2 percent, now it’s 20 percent of the market,” Mr Edwards told the ABC.
“Oats will be number one very soon. Over the next six to 12 months, you will notice that oats will take over from almond.
“It’s mainly because people who try oats see the smoothness and smoothness of the drink. It emulates dairy better than most other plant-based milks.’
The supermarket’s milk shelf may look a little different by 2023 when the first synthetic milk goes on sale