Cargill and food tech leader ENOUGH, which produces fermented protein sustainably, are expanding their current partnership to further innovate nutritious and sustainable alternative meat and dairy solutions consumers crave. Cargill is investing in ENOUGH’s most recent (Series C) growth funding campaign and has signed a commercial agreement to use and market its fermented protein.
ENOUGH uses a pioneering technology that enables large-scale sustainable protein production of its signature ABUNDA® mycoprotein. ABUNDA is grown by feeding fungi with sugars from sustainably sourced grain that is then fermented in a natural production process like making beer, wine or yogurt. This creates ABUNDA mycoprotein, a complete food ingredient that contains essential amino acids and is high in dietary fiber. ABUNDA is produced through a zero-waste fermentation process, with Cargill’s glucose syrup as a main source.
“Cargill is strengthening its partnership with ENOUGH because the world needs more protein that is grown more sustainably to keep pace with global population growth. Mycoprotein is an emerging ingredient with a disruptive role to play due to its many benefits including a meat-like texture, protein profile, scalability and sustainability,” explains Belgin Kose, managing director, Cargill Meat and Dairy Alternatives. “We remain committed to bringing alternative and traditional protein source options to the table, and our collaboration with ENOUGH is one of the ways we can realize our purpose to nourish the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way.”
Cargill and ENOUGH already have a multi-faceted partnership. ENOUGH’s first-of-its-kind 160,000 square foot (15,000 square metre) production facility, built in 2022, is co-located alongside a Cargill facility in Sas van Gent, The Netherlands. Cargill provides ENOUGH with glucose syrup and utilities as well as partnering with ENOUGH in the EU-funded PLENITUDE consortium project.
With the expanded strategic partnership, Cargill will co-create with customers tasty and nutritious protein alternative foods containing ABUNDA mycoprotein by leveraging its broad portfolio of plant-based proteins, texturizers and fats, as well as its formulations and applications capabilities. ENOUGH will continue to benefit from Cargill’s global footprint and feedstock technology expertise to scale up faster in Europe and beyond.
“Expanding our partnership with Cargill is an exciting step to accelerate the great strides we’ve already made through the co-location of our Sas van Gent facility,” adds Jim Laird, CEO, ENOUGH. “The alternative protein market is a multi-billion-dollar opportunity, and efficiency will come from collaboration with partners such as Cargill to leverage existing demand and supply chain to gain scale.”
Cargill is an ideal partner to help ENOUGH achieve its aim to grow over one million tons of ABUNDA cumulatively by 2033. The company’s expertise as a food solutions leader and role at the heart of the food supply chain enables it to scale up new technologies in the alternative protein space as ENOUGH builds additional capacity.