Switzerland is well placed to become a foodtech giant. This new science uses biotechnology to develop the proteins of the future. Those that could replace meat and dairy products with plant foods that imitate them perfectly, without chemical additives and with a much better carbon footprint.
Because livestock farming is responsible for 15% of greenhouse gas emissions, and with a planet with 10 billion inhabitants by 2050, alternatives to animal proteins will have to be found.
Launched 5 years ago in Zurich, Planted has become the Swiss leader in meat substitutes. “We have to work with ingredients and natural biological processes,” explains its co-founder Pascal Bieri, Monday on the Basik show. Following a stay in the United States, where he discovered plant-based burgers full of unsavory additives, he decided to embark on the foodtech adventure. “Our goal is to completely rethink the way we eat. We eat way too much animal meat. It’s not good for your health.”
At the Kemptthal site, 14 tonnes of plant-based meat are produced every day, mainly from peas and rapeseed oil. Only a quarter of this production is intended for the Swiss market, the rest being exported to several European countries. The start-up does not reveal its turnover, but we know that it has already raised 115 million francs. Investors range from ordinary individuals to Franco-American giant L Catterton.
Planted’s latest innovation is a perfectly imitated steak, right down to the texture of the beef fibers. A product designed to appeal to carnivores wishing to reduce their consumption of meat products for ethical reasons, such as environmental protection or animal welfare. For them, foodtech is making a crazy bet: creating the perfect illusion.
Towards plant-based dairy products
Another demonstration at Cultivated Biosciences. In a laboratory at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, this start-up has developed a futuristic-looking fermentation process. In a bioreactor, it produces vegetable fat from sugar fully digested by yeast. This produces a cream that will be sold next year to the food industry to make 100% plant-based ice cream, milk or coffee cream.
The stated ambition is that the consumer no longer even sees the difference. “There will be the creaminess, the smoothness that consumers like,” specifies Dimitri Zogg, co-founder of the start-up. “And we will also be able to do without all the additives used in the products currently on the market. Our ingredient comes 100% from yeast,” he adds.
Unity is strength for Foodtech Switzerland
Planted and Cultivated Biosciences are part of a network of 150 members, la Swiss Food and Nutrition Valley. Founded in 2020 at the Davos Forum, this structure intends to bring together all the players necessary to create the food of the future. It brings together heavyweights such as Nestlé, Givaudan, Aldi and EPFL.
“It is a global approach that includes all stakeholders, from the farmer to the final consumer. We cannot build a sustainable food system if it does not generate profit. It must also be a good business “, pleads its director Christina Senn-Jakobsen.
The network calls for setting up a fund of one billion francs to succeed in our food transition, she explains. “With our taxes, we already invest a lot of money in research and development. This has allowed Switzerland to position itself as a leading country in the pharmaceutical industry. But we also have large food companies that we can continue to develop. I think that Switzerland has great potential to become a global food nation.”
Between progress and tradition
This ambition is also based on the alliance of innovation and tradition. Planetary is located in the heart of a century-old flagship, the Swiss sugar factory of Aarberg. The start-up benefits from infrastructure and raw material: sugar. This is digested by a mushroom extract, a fermentation process which produces a biomass rich in proteins, as complete as those of meat, but without cholesterol.
Still in the research and development phase, the start-up has already raised 15 million francs. “We work with traditional venture capital funds. Climate-related technologies are booming, it’s a very attractive sector for investors,” says Eleanor McSweeney, director of business development. “It’s good for business and good for the planet. So it attracts a lot more capital than before.”
These tempting prospects convinced Sucre Suisse, although the start-up currently only buys 2% of its production. “2% of 200,000 tonnes still represents 4,000 tonnes,” underlines general manager Guido Stäger. “We know sugar is under pressure due to health concerns. That’s why we’re constantly looking for new uses.”
Planetary will not produce finished products itself, but will sell its biomass to the food industry. “Today, there is a real market for alternatives to meat,” rejoices Eleanor McSweeney. “And this market primarily targets carnivores, rather than vegetarians or vegans.”
So tomorrow will we all become vegetarians? Regardless, Switzerland has all the necessary assets to capture a substantial share of the foodtech market, a market that will only grow in the coming decades. According to experts, plant-based meat could represent up to 60% of the meat products market by 2040.
Alain Orange/miro
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