Dairy giant Hochland teams up with Those Vegan Cowboys to scale up sustainable cheese
One of Europe’s largest private cheese producers Hochland Group signed a joint development agreement with Belgian/Dutch pioneers in precision fermentation Those Vegan Cowboys. In 2023, Those Vegan Cowboys succeeded in making real cow-free casein: the milk protein that makes cheese cheesy. Together with Hochland, they will now test the casein in a wide variety of semi-hard and hard cheeses, while taking the next step on the route to commercialization.
Those Vegan Cowboys have been working with several cheese producers in the past year, to find out how their casein behaves in different circumstances on lab-scale. In October, TVC announced the discovery that their microbial casein under certain conditions outperforms the cow’s casein currently used in cheese. Those Vegan Cowboys CEO Hille van der Kaa: “Our partners have seen better stretching and melting compared to the animal-sourced version, allowing cheese producers to use less casein with the same result. This will ultimately lower the price of cheese. Now that we’ve got this casein, we want it to make as big an impact as possible." Hochland is Those Vegan Cowboys' first partner to take the cheese developments on a larger scale. Van der Kaa: 'This is a very important next step on the route to commercialization.’
Sustainability and health benefits
Those Vegan Cowboys’ microbial casein requires only one-fifth of the land and water compared to animal-based casein. Additionally, cautious estimates predict that microbial casein produces 80% less CO2 and no methane– making cheese significantly more sustainable. When cheesemakers replace animal fats with specific plant-based fats, the cheese also becomes healthier than its animal counterpart as you can leave behind saturated fats, lactose and cholesterol. Dr. Sarah Borg, Start Up Innovations & Ventures Director at Hochland Group: ‘We are excited to test this innovation of a key cheese ingredient in new products. With a growing population in mind, casein made by precision fermentation can really make a difference.’
Hochland's road to sustainable cheese production
For the Hochland Group, the partnership fits in with their sustainable long-term ambitions. They previously gave shape to this with the long-term quality program 'Milch für Hochland', in which they eliminated the use of herbicides and substrates that could contain plastic particles on meadows and fields. Hochland CFO Hubert Staub: ‘More people choose different styles of nutrition. Our dairy based business will remain our strong core business. But we see that there is a demand for alternatives and we want to provide the best quality to our consumers. Milk proteins derived by precision fermentation could be a great solution.’
New perspective for grassland farmers
With a 9th generation farmer as a founder, and with most of the management team coming from farming backgrounds, Those Vegan Cowboys see farmers as vital partners moving forward. Chief Commercial Officer Robert van den Breemer: ‘This new way of cheese making can relieve dairy farmers from several heavy societal issues they’ve been burdened with. We can grow past the cow's physical limitations in the healthiest way imaginable, and feed 5 times the number of people from the same amount of land. This can bring farmers the freedom to welcome more nature into their way of working, regain their role as stewards of the land and be acknowledged and rewarded for their services, way beyond maximizing milk production. Stainless steel cows can relieve the heavy lifting of mass production, in a healthier way.’
Commercial launch
As microbial casein classifies as a novel food, Those Vegan Cowboys currently prepare to file for worldwide market approval. They expect to enter the market in the United States in 2025. Asia will follow soon, market entrance in Europe is expected within three to four years. Those Vegan Cowboys will organize their first tastings in The Netherlands later this year.
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