Danone, the French dairy company, has made a strategic investment of $2 million in Wilk, an Israeli developer of cultured animal and human breast milk, as part of a recent funding round.
Danone Manifesto Ventures, the corporate venture arm of the multinational company, has led a funding round of $3.5 million, which also included contributions from Steakholder Foods (previously MeaTech), a developer of 3D printed cultured meat, and Central Bottling Co, the owner of Coca Cola Israel.
Wilk, which was established in 2020, claims to be the world’s first company to produce cultured mammary cells that can create both human and animal milk. The Israeli company aims to offer a sustainable, long-term alternative to cow’s milk for the dairy industry and provide a nutritious option for new mothers who are unable or unwilling to breastfeed.
Wilk and Danone’s corporate venture arm have signed a strategic agreement to collaborate on the development of cultured breast milk components for use in infant formula. The partnership aims to provide an innovative, sustainable, and safe alternative to conventional breast milk for infants. With this agreement, Wilk will receive support from Danone Manifesto Ventures to advance its research and development efforts in the field of cultured breast milk.
The two companies will evaluate potential collaborative business prospects and operations, which could include investigating shared development contracts and funding opportunities for projects located in Europe or the United States.
Upon completion of the investment, Danone will hold a stake of at least 2% in Wilk, while Stakeholder Foods has announced its intention to acquire a 2.5% ownership interest in the company.
“We’re extremely excited to announce our strategic collaboration with Wilk”, Arik Kaufman, Chief Executive Officer at Steakholder Foods said in a statement: “As part of our commitment to sustainable foods solutions, we see this collaboration as another step in expanding Steakholder Foods’ growing contribution to the Food-Tech ecosystem and a strategic step in the optimization of our investment and holding structure.”
A number of Israeli companies are currently engaged in the development of animal-free dairy products. In the previous year, Remilk, located in Rehovot, secured $120 million in funding – the largest investment ever made in a cow-free dairy firm – which will be utilized to construct the world’s largest precision fermentation facility for cow-free milk production in Denmark.