French startup Yeasty has developed a sustainable and scaleable way to create alternative meat proteins using beer waste.
Using leftover yeast from breweries, the company manufactures an alt-meat component that’s said to be nutritious, flavourful, and versatile. If scaled, it claims to be more sustainable than most vegan proteins available today.
The alt–meat market is growing at a rapid pace. In 2020, sales for alternative meat reached an estimated US$2.4 billion and were expected to grow an estimated $28 billion by 2025.
While alt-meat can be called a more environmentally friendly option since it does not need to slaughter animals, a lot of processes are still involved, and manufacturing alternative proteins still relies heavily on fossil fuels.
Using a less energy-intensive process, the company uses leftover yeast (beer waste) from breweries that would otherwise go to waste and processes the feedstock to remove its bitter taste so that companies can use it for a variety of protein alternatives like meat, bread, biscuits, eggs, alternative cheese, and protein starches.
Yeasty claims it can create an affordable product rich in a “meaty” and umami taste with a high protein content of between 50 and 60 per cent. In addition, the product is also a good source of amino acids, fibre, and vitamins.
The company has yet to scale outside its lab but recently raised $1.4 million in a funding round and plans to build an industrial site with an annual capacity of 4500 tonnes by 2025.
