EIB provides €35 million to Formo to expand production of cheese alternatives free from animal products
Berlin-based food tech company develops fermentation processes to produce cheese alternatives
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a €35 million loan to German food tech company Formo. This EIB quasi-equity venture debt loan will enable Formo to further develop and scale up its fermentation processes for producing alternatives to dairy and egg-based products.
Founded in Berlin in 2019, the startup uses two similar technologies in its processes. The first is micro-fermentation, in which naturally occurring micro-organisms such as Formo’s Koji mushrooms are used to produce tasteless proteins without modifying the micro-organism itself. Koji proteins are excellent for producing cheese without using animal products.
Its pioneering work in precision fermentation has also enabled Formo to develop bioidentical milk proteins, particularly caseins with good melting properties. Traditional fermentation is combined with the latest synthetic biotechnologies to produce caseins efficiently and on an industrial scale. Formo is currently undergoing the approval process for marketing its second-generation (precision fermentation) products in the United States, and is also working towards conducting the relevant new food process in its European home market.
As a first step, Formo has already launched its micro-fermentation product line, with several flavours of the Frischhain product distributed via METRO and REWE supermarkets in Germany and Austria since September 2024. Other cheese alternatives (from Greek feta to white and blue cheese) and an egg substitute for scrambled eggs and baked goods are currently in the scaling process.
The initial target market for the products are consumers concerned about the impact of conventional food production on the environment, animal welfare and health. Formo’s products should eventually be everyone’s first choice, regardless of their specific diets and nutritional philosophies.
“Developing and scaling up the industrial production of fermentation-based foods is a highly innovative approach to meeting the growing demand for protein-rich dairy and egg substitutes that are free from animal products,” said EIB Vice-President Nicola Beer. “By working with Formo, the EIB is supporting innovative solutions for sustainable consumption while also backing a growth-stage European startup.”
“We are very pleased that the EIB is confident of the strength and scalability of our innovation,” said Formo’s founder Raffael Wohlgensinger. “We want to show that innovative European companies can move from smart ideas to scaling up and successfully marketing their technologies. We also know that fermentation processes will make a decisive contribution to the resilience of the European food system. This financing sends a strong signal across Europe and confirms our strategy.”
The EIB loan is supported by the InvestEU programme, which is expected to unlock €372 billion of additional investment in new technologies by 2027. The operation is also in line with the InvestEU objective of promoting research, development and innovation.
This agreement follows the $61 million in Series B funding that Formo secured in September 2024, bringing the company’s total financing to over €135 million. It is therefore in a good financial position for meeting its ambitious growth targets.
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