It’s no secret that global food systems need to produce a lot more protein over the coming years to meet the growing demand amongst a growing population worldwide. Producing those proteins sustainably is arguably a critical requirement to meet that demand within planetary boundaries, especially for alternative proteins companies navigating the path to commercialisation.
But is sustainability king when it comes to commercialising an alternative proteins business?
Jim Fader, co-founder of Eden Brew, a leading precision fermentation company exploring B2C categories like dairy as well as B2B ingredient applications across supplementation, sports nutrition and food fortification has some words of wisdom to other budding alternative proteins ventures.
“Be a food business, first”: the key to winning consumers, and investors
Alternative proteins companies, particularly those underpinned by complex technologies like precision fermentation, are often categorised as deep tech climate startups by investors who are seeking to fund problem-solving companies.
Yet with research consistently showing that consumer purchasing decisions prioritise price, quality, and health before sustainability, food businesses marketing sustainability must face this lack of immediate consumer desire for sustainable options. In a market where the demand for proteins is currently being met by the supply, there is also no extra motivation in the mind of the everyday consumer to demand more protein, to be produced more sustainably.
With that in mind, Jim’s primary advice to alternative proteins business – even those with a great sustainability story – was to focus on being food companies first, and deep tech climate startups second, focusing on a customer-pull strategy rather than a tech-push.
Consumer-focused, powered by proprietary technology
At Eden Brew, they are focused on this customer-pull strategy across two different categories, an evolution from the company’s early vision of “dairy made differently” as Jim shared.
While the company is still working on the technology to create dairy products that are “sensory identical”, with a focus on taste, smell and mouthfeel, that same technology is powering their entrance to another massive category: B2B ingredients.
Eden Brew genetically modifies yeast to produce nature-identical casein proteins (beta casein, kappa casein, and AS1 casein) which then aggregate to form casein micelles. It’s these micelles that have an exciting new application to meet a whole different category of consumer needs: they can be fortified with minerals to deliver those minerals in supplements, sports nutrition products and as food fortification ingredients. The slow release of minerals from these fortified micelles, similar to the natural breakdown of casein in milk, helps bypass stomach shock associated with traditional mineral supplements. This offers a significant consumer benefit for nutrients like iron that otherwise can cause stomach discomfort.
Jim says Eden Brew has accordingly made a strategic shift to focus on the ingredients category as a way to secure a strong growth pathway for the company, which will enable the company to fulfil its original vision of being “the milk in every fridge, the cheese in every kid’s toastie”, as Jim says, in the future.
The power of partnerships
Jim emphasises that the shift in strategy is about sequencing, not values. The company still envisions themselves as part of the dairy industry, a view underpinned by key early partnerships with Australia’s largest dairy cooperative NORCO.
Jim points out that the dairy industry is “extremely technical and scientific”, and they do “amazing, wonderful things in nutrition,” crediting a collaborative approach to their partnership with Norco for unlocking many opportunities to add value. He said the partnership offers significant synergies for Eden Brew’s future plans to leverage Norco’s existing manufacturing capacity.
Eden Brew also has Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, to thank for the early research powering its precision fermentation technology, which was backed by $4 million in funding, technology and industry expertise in the joint partnership between CSIRO offshoot Main Sequence and Norco.
What’s next for alternative proteins?
When asked what the single most necessary shift for the alternative protein sector was to achieve its potential in the future, Jim said his answer was “philosophical”.
He emphasised that the sector needs to rethink it’s label of “alternative” and simply join the protein sector – be a part of the “mainstream protein that people want.”
He points to “many credible players doing a great job” but suggests even in name, the sector is marketing its products as “an alternative to the real thing, as opposed to being the real thing.” He believes hitting an inflection point where alternative protein products are considered mainstream can be achieved by striving to be “in every conversation and every activity” in the protein category.
Want to hear more of Jim’s insights? Catch him onstage at AltProteins 25 in “Show Me the Money”, a session that will explore the challenges for sustainable food companies in the current investment landscape and actionable strategies for success.
AltProteins 25 is Australia’s premiere conference on alternative proteins uniting innovators, policymakers and researchers to shape the future of food, and it’s happening for the fourth time this October 14 in Sydney.
Learn more and register here: foodfrontier.org/altproteins-conference-2025/