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As the food tech investment sector has come into its own over the past year, Miruku, a New Zealand-based food technology company, was outpacing molecular farming technology. This proactive strategy has given the company “three to four years ahead of emerging competitors,” CEO Amos Palfreyman told TechCrunch.
“Miruku not only aims to address the challenges presented by climate change impacting traditional dairy production, but has also broadened our scope to address critical food security and nutrition issues,” he said. Palfreyman said in an email interview.
TechCrunch profiled the company in 2022 when it raised $2.4 million in seed funding to develop molecular farming technology to program plant cells into mini-factories to produce proteins and other molecules, like fats and sugars, traditionally made by animals.
Miruku is not the only one using molecular farming technologies to create dairy products. Mozza Foods and Nobell Foods also do it, but Palfreyman says his company focuses on business-to-business commerce and modifies both proteins and fats within the same plant. She also chose to use safflower as her main crop due to its climate resilience.
Miruku leadership, from left, Thomas Buchanan, Ira Bing, Amos Palfreyman and Abby Thompson. Image credits: Miruku
Since the seed cycle, the company has made progress in its proprietary dairy seed system. Initially, Miruku focused on programming factories to produce dairy proteins that could be extracted from seeds. This approach has since expanded to exploit interactions between recombinant dairy casein and native plant proteins, with or without enhanced fatty acid profiles.
“This advancement allows us to use more of the seed, turning it into a range of versatile ingredients suitable for the food and beverage industry,” Palfreyman said. “We have now reached several key proof-of-concept milestones demonstrating the viability and potential of the dairy seed system. »
During this period, the company also tripled the size of its team and established relationships with a number of partners in the food manufacturing sector for certain co-development opportunities. Additionally, Miruku expanded its presence in Israel as well as Australia, which was selected as the launch pad for initial market entry.
Today, the company announced $5 million in what Palfreyman called a pre-Series A funding round. It was led by Motion Capital and included seed investor Movac and new investor NZVC. He did not disclose the valuation, but said it was an “upside.”
The new capital allows Miruku to expand its crop development efforts. This includes a partnership with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), the Australian government agency responsible for scientific research. As such, the company will put its modified safflower varieties through field trials in Australia, Palfreyman said.
“Above all, our priority is to advance our technology and move toward market readiness,” Palfreyman said. “This includes expanding our presence in Australia and considering establishing a presence in the United States.”
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