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Ready for mass production, vegan-fat startup Lypid raise US$ 4M seed round
Lypid, founded by two Cornell Taiwanese scientists, selected into SOSV’s indieBio, announced it has raised a US$ 4M seed round and is ready to bring the product to the industrial level.
The seed round is led by Green Generation Fund, with additional support from Big Idea Ventures, Foodland Ventures, AVA Angels and SOSV’s IndieBio. Dr. Jen-Yu Huang and Dr. Michelle Lee, co-founders of Lypid, indicate the funds will be used to bring their product to market in 2022, after which they plan to expand further in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
“Green Gen Fund has a strong network in plant-based industry in Europe and a deep engineering background. We believe they can facilitate our commercialization to bring our new technology to the market faster,” said Dr. Jen-Yu Huang.
“Not only since the pandemic, the market for plant-based meat has exploded. But plant-based meat has a long way to go—and that’s because it’s missing a convincing equivalent to animal fat,” said Dr. Manon Sarah Littek, lead investor and Founding Partner of Green Generation Fund. “Our team is looking forward to supporting Michelle and Jen-Yu in launching their product to market and building an outstanding ingredient provider in order to contribute to a more environmentally sustainable future.”
Lypid’s revolutionary plant fat - PhytoFat
Food scientists around the world are all looking for the best formula to mimic real meat. It is yet to be found -- until Lypid found the secret sauce of alternative fat -- water.
Traditionally, animal fat is replaced by plant-based oil, such as coconut oil, canola, and sunflower oils. However, their melting point is very low, resulting in the fat melting in the pans and a greasy plant-smelled piece of vegan meat. Other scientists have tried to use cultivated animal fat, yet it clearly does not fit strict vegan diets.
Dr. Michelle Lee’s specialty, the encapsulation technique, added with some special processing technology and formulation, allows liquid vegan oils to stand up to 165 degrees Celsius and contains more water components. With the fat still sticking onto the meat, the sense of creaminess, chewiness and juiciness is preserved. “If you look into animal fat, it’s not just lipid. It contains water, too. If you are always trying to imitate ‘fat’, the direction is wrong and it will never taste like ‘real fat.’” Jen-Yu explained.
Lypid’s formulation and technique can produce vegan fats with juicy animal-like textures and melting behaviors, extended flavor delivery, and a better nutritional profile than other plant-based fats. With no artificial additives, no hydrogenation, and containing zero trans fats, Lypid looks to offer PhytoFatTM as a healthier alternative to the current plant-based protein market, which relies heavily on palm oil and coconut oil for ingredients.
Aiming to produce more than 10 tons per year for each production line.
Due to the great potential of Lypid’s technique and business idea, in 2021, Lypid was informed to be selected into IndieBio, the largest biotech startup accelerator run by Global VC firm SOSV, within a week. Aside from the funds and equipment IndieBio provided, the network and mindset IndieBio offered were irreplaceable.
Together the Lypid founders transitioned from the mindset of a scientist to that of an entrepreneur to form their B2B go-to-market strategy. “We see fat as a critical catalyst to bring meat alternatives to the next level—tastier, healthier, and more sustainable,” said Dr. Jen-Yu Huang. “Now our goal is to bring production of PhytoFatTM to the industrial level. We are aiming to produce more than 10 tons per year for each production line.”
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