Zero Cow Factory, a biotechnology startup based in India, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $4 million (INR 32 crore) in seed funding. The company claims to be the first in India to create animal-free protein and dairy products by utilizing bioengineering microbes and precision fermentation techniques.

Green Frontier Capital, GVFL (previously Gujarat Venture Finance Limited), and pi Ventures co-led the funding round for Zero Cow Factory. Additionally, Pascual Innoventures, the investment arm of the Spanish dairy company Calidad Pascual, was among the investors who participated in the funding.

With the $4 million in seed funding, Zero Cow Factory aims to accelerate its research and development activities, increase production capacity, and obtain regulatory approvals required for market entry.

Zero Cow Factory was established in 2021 by Sohil Kapadia and Parini Kapadia in Surat. The company’s mission is to revolutionize the dairy industry by producing animal-free milk proteins and dairy products in a sustainable manner. Their product is a novel substitute for cow’s milk protein that mimics its taste, texture, nutrient profile, and appearance.

CEO Sohil Kapadia CEO of Zero Cow Factory, said, “Currently only four countries have allowed for products such as ours. Now, more and more companies are coming up. When we started, India was not ready regulatory-wise but now it’s the fourth country having made some progress,” 

He added, “We are looking at starting from more mature markets like the United States and Singapore, and on the basis of regulatory approvals, India, too.”

According to the company, they have developed a patented technology that allows them to produce dairy proteins, including casein and whey, without involving animals.

“The company’s first product is A2 Beta- casein, which is also healthier as the A1 milk protein that causes indigestion is absent from the product. The aim is to be the first company to get global regulatory approval for this protein,” the company said in a statement.

Zero Cow Factory stated that the recently created protein will be utilized as a component to develop a variety of sustainable food and dairy products, such as cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and dietary supplements. These products will cater to the requirements of the food, dairy, CPG, nutraceutical, and dietary supplement sectors.

Zero Cow Factory asserted that the new protein is devoid of lactose, antibiotics, growth hormones, cholesterol, and saturated fat. They also claimed that the protein is produced through a more eco-friendly process, requiring 99% less land, 98% less water, 84% less carbon dioxide equivalent, and 65% less energy consumption compared to traditional dairy methods.

Zero Cow Factory has confirmed that they have successfully demonstrated the proof of concept for animal-free casein production at the laboratory scale using a small bioreactor. With the newly acquired funding, the company plans to expedite the development of a pilot facility in Gujarat for commercial production.

Discussions on with potential partners:

Zero Cow Factory has opted for the B2B approach as they initiate their business, and they have revealed that they are in discussions with multiple companies from the CPG, dairy, and nutraceutical sectors who have expressed interest in collaborating with them to develop products using Zero Cow Factory’s milk proteins as ingredients, which will replace milk in their supply chain.

Sandiip Bhammer, Co-Managing Partner and Founder at Green Frontier Capital said, “With cattle being the No.1 agricultural source of greenhouse gases, precision fermentation startups have the potential to disrupt the dairy industry globally. If the world (and India) has to achieve its net zero goals, there needs to be a pivot rather quickly to sustainable solutions like precision fermentation and, in that regard, Zero Cow Factory, is working assiduously on developing its own proprietary A2 casein-based solution, a weakness that plant-based ingredients have not yet been able to address successfully.”

Zero Cow Factory had previously raised an unspecified amount of pre-seed funding from foodtech investors Artesian VC and Brinc. The company is also part of innovation accelerators across the globe, including Mylkcubator in Spain, MassChallenge in Switzerland, and Plug and Play in the United States.