Vivici, an EIC Accelerator Winner, Ferments Whey Without Cows

Whey protein concentrate prices rose 108% over two years and some US supply was sold out for the rest of 2026, Green Queen reported in June 2026. Vivici, a Dutch company created by dsm-firmenich and the New Zealand dairy cooperative Fonterra, makes the main whey protein, beta-lactoglobulin, with engineered yeast in fermentation tanks instead.

The EIC Accelerator selected its project, Vivitein, at the 6 May 2026 cut-off, one of 38 companies chosen from 87 proposals according to Green Queen. CORDIS records a grant agreement signed on 23 September 2026 with an EU contribution of €2,499,143.50, running from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2028. The money is to complete the company's EU novel food safety dossiers, scale production to industrial fermentation and launch on the European market. The grant has been running for a month, so this article sets out what was promised and what can already be checked.

Born as a dairy joint venture

In its decision of 20 December 2022, the European Commission did not oppose DSM Venturing and Fonterra taking joint control of a newly created Dutch company, Tasman B.V., a step Agriland also reported. DairyReporter dates the Commission's approval of the Vivici joint venture to December 2022, and wrote in August 2023 that the two groups had worked together on the idea since 2019, that a seed round of undisclosed size had closed, and quoted van Sint Fiet saying that "Vivici will operate as an independent company".

Sources disagree on when Vivici was founded. Its own CORDIS summary says 2022, the year of the Commission decision, while FoodNavigator and Protein Production Technology say 2023. North Data lists the company's registered purpose as making and selling dairy analogues by precision fermentation, and shows balance sheets filed for 2023, 2024 and 2025, the last on 18 August 2026; the figures themselves are behind its paywall and could not be checked for this article.

The same protein, a different factory

Beta-lactoglobulin makes up 7 to 9% of the protein in cow's milk, according to the FDA's response to Vivici's GRAS notice. Vivici inserts the gene into the yeast Komagataella phaffii, grows it in tanks and recovers the protein. The CORDIS summary says its downstream process avoids chromatography and uses what it calls high-moisture precipitation, which it says keeps the protein intact and lowers cost, and that structural analysis shows the same tertiary and quaternary structure as the bovine protein. Green Queen describes the ingredient as clear in colour and neutral in flavour, and the company markets it for clear protein drinks, bars and shots.

Vivici is not first with this molecule. The same FDA letter notes that the agency had already answered two earlier beta-lactoglobulin notices from other companies, one in March 2020 for a protein made by the fungus Trichoderma reesei and one in February 2023 for a protein from a different K. phaffii strain. The difference Vivici claims is its process and cost, with a target of €10 per kilogram by 2028 in the CORDIS summary; no current production cost or selling price has been published.

Its environmental claims are company figures from a life-cycle assessment and are not quoted consistently. FoodBev and Green Queen reported a 68% lower carbon footprint and 86% less water in 2025; Green Queen's June 2026 report gives 66% lower emissions, 86% less water and 61% less land. No published copy of the assessment was found.

Cleared in the US, not yet in the EU

Vivici declared its beta-lactoglobulin generally recognised as safe on its own authority in February 2024 and then notified the FDA. The FDA letter says the agency received the notice on 18 June 2024 and, after two amendments, had "no questions at this time" about Vivici's conclusion; Green Queen dates the letter to February 2025. The letter covers use as a protein source at up to 35% of a food, and Vivici states that the ingredient is not intended for infant formula. Green Queen's 2026 report describes use at up to 50% by weight, a figure the FDA letter does not contain.

The second product, Vivitein LF, is a fermentation-made lactoferrin, a scarce milk protein used mostly in premium infant formula. FoodBev and Dairy Business MEA reported its US launch in February 2026 on self-affirmed GRAS status, without an FDA letter. Self-affirmed GRAS is under review in the US: Green Queen reported in March 2025 that the health secretary had directed the FDA to work towards eliminating it.

In Europe both proteins need novel food authorisation. Vivici said in March 2025 that it was pursuing approval in the EU, the UK, Canada and Singapore, with applications filed in several, per Green Queen. The CORDIS summary says the EIC grant will enable completion of the EU novel food safety dossiers. A search of EFSA's published opinions on 4 November 2026 found an opinion on beta-lactoglobulin from cow's whey filed by another company in 2020, and none on Vivici's fermented protein.

1. Production validated at 75 m³ (TRL 7)Company-reportedStated in CORDIS; Green Queen reports a run in a 75,000-litre fermenter at the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant.
2. Complete EU novel food dossiersUnder wayNo EFSA opinion on Vivici's proteins was found on 4 November 2026.
3. Scale up to industrial fermentationNot shown yet120 m³ transfer started per CORDIS; no report of a first run at the Indiana plant was found.
4. Cost of €10/kg by 2028TargetNo current cost or price is published.
5. Commercial launch in EuropeToo earlyThe grant runs to September 2028.

Borrowed tanks

Vivici names no production plant of its own. Green Queen reported in June 2026 that it works with co-manufacturers in Europe and the US. In May 2025 it signed with Liberation Labs, since renamed Liberation Bioindustries, to make Vivitein BLG at a 600,000-litre plant under construction in Richmond, Indiana, with commercial output expected in 2026, as reported by vegconomist and in Liberation Labs' release. In January 2026 vegconomist described the plant as nearing completion, with Vivici among its first production projects. A report that the plant has started commercial runs for Vivici could not be found.

In October 2025 the Abu Dhabi Investment Office announced a strategic partnership with Vivici and The Every Company to plan a 4-million-litre fermentation site in the emirate, The National reported; no construction date was given, and Dairy Business MEA described it in June 2026 as a partnership to explore such a facility.

Offtakes without names

When it launched Vivitein BLG in the US in March 2025, Vivici said it had signed its first offtake agreements and begun supplying selected brands, and van Sint Fiet said products would be on shelves the next quarter, per FoodNavigator. In June 2026 chief commercial officer Simon Penfold said that "customer demand for our ingredients is already strong", per Green Queen. Neither the company's website nor the trade coverage reviewed for this article names a brand selling a product made with Vivitein. At SupplySide Global in October 2026, vegconomist reported, Vivici showed four of its own concepts: a clear lemon soda and a 25-gram protein shot with BLG, and an iron capsule and a gut health drink with lactoferrin.

€32.5 million, then the EIC

Vivici raised €32.5 million in a Series A round in February 2025, led by the Dutch pension investor APG on behalf of ABP and by the state investment fund Invest-NL, with InnovationQuarter, dsm-firmenich and Fonterra, according to FoodBev and Dairy Business MEA. The EIC award was announced on 17 June 2026 as €12.5 million. Dairy Business MEA splits it into €2.5 million of grant and €10 million of equity. CORDIS records only the grant, and no EIC Fund announcement of the equity amount or terms was found, so the €10 million is a reported figure.

Why the EU funds a dairy joint venture

The CORDIS summary ties the project to the European Green Deal, the Farm to Fork strategy and the EU bioeconomy strategy, and CORDIS tags 40% of the grant to climate action and 40% to biodiversity. The project's case is that whey proteins made in fermenters add protein supply without more cattle. The awkward part for the EU is that the US cleared the product first, and the largest named sites for Vivici's proteins are in Indiana and Abu Dhabi, while its European production runs through co-manufacturers it does not name; the Vivitein grant is meant to bring the approval and the scale-up to Europe.

Vivici was not asked for comment for this article. The reporting is based on publicly available sources, listed below.