Nourish Ingredients Signs European Manufacturing Deal to Scale Animal-Free Dairy Fat
Australian fermentation startup Nourish Ingredients has partnered with specialty lipid producer SD Guthrie to manufacture its dairy fat alternative, Creamilux, at industrial scale in Europe.
The collaboration has already completed a 10-tonne production run at SD Guthrie's Dutch facilities, with existing infrastructure capable of scaling to 20 tonnes per day, targeting hundreds of tonnes annually within two to three years.
The deal gives European food manufacturers access to a commercially produced, regulatory-approved animal-free fat, with the first consumer products expected on shelves within six months.
Canberra-based Nourish Ingredients has secured a manufacturing partnership with SD Guthrie, a specialty lecithin producer with Dutch facilities, to accelerate the European rollout of Creamilux, its precision-fermented dairy fat alternative. The agreement pairs Nourish Ingredients's proprietary technology and intellectual property with SD Guthrie's manufacturing infrastructure and lipid processing expertise, creating what the company describes as a "low-risk, quick-to-market pathway" for scaling supply across Europe and other key markets.
A Fat Designed to Replace Dairy
Creamilux is produced using precision fermentation combined with enzymatic processing. Precision fermentation works by inserting a specific DNA sequence into microorganisms, instructing them to produce target molecules during the fermentation process. In Creamilux's case, the result is an enzymatically modified phospholipid that delivers the creaminess, mouthfeel, emulsion stability, and flavour associated with conventional dairy fats. The ingredient comes in powder form, is enriched with short-chain fatty acids, and is effective at ultra-low inclusion rates, meaning manufacturers need only small quantities to achieve the desired effect in plant-based or blended dairy products.
Creamilux holds regulatory approval for sale in both the EU and Australia, a factor that co-founder and CEO James Petrie cites as a primary reason for centring European production around this ingredient rather than Tastilux, Nourish Ingredients's meat-fat counterpart. "The first was regulatory: we can already sell Creamilux directly into this market," Petrie explained.
From Dutch Facilities to Hundreds of Tonnes
The partnership has already moved beyond planning. A 10-tonne industrial production run was completed at SD Guthrie's Dutch facilities within a matter of days. According to Nourish Ingredients, the existing infrastructure has capacity to produce up to 20 tonnes per day. Founding director and CTO Anna El Tahchy described the run as an important step in validating the process and seeding the market, with plans to scale to 100 tonnes per year as customer demand builds, followed by 500 tonnes and beyond over the next two to three years.
The partnership follows Nourish Ingredients's establishment of a commercial hub in Leiden, Netherlands, announced a year prior and now described as fully operational with a focus on sales and product applications. The company has recently expanded its European commercial team, and Petrie noted that having commercially manufactured Creamilux available for demonstration gives the team a tangible product to place in front of European food manufacturers.
Two Products, Two Continents
Nourish Ingredients operates a parallel strategy for its two ingredients. While Creamilux is being scaled in Europe through SD Guthrie, Tastilux, which facilitates the Maillard reaction to replicate the aroma, taste, and cooking experience of meat fat, is being scaled in Asia through a partnership with Chinese synthetic biology firm Cabio Biotech. Petrie explained that geography followed from finding the right technical partner for each process, rather than the reverse.
Tastilux received a Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) determination from the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) in the US last year, opening pathways to global markets where FEMA GRAS is recognised. The company has partnership agreements for Tastilux across the US, Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East, and has collaborated with New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra on products incorporating Creamilux.
Petrie indicated that the first consumer products are expected on shelves within six months, with Tastilux in a plant-based chicken application arriving first, followed by Creamilux in alternative dairy. The company has raised nearly $40 million to date and is working to close a further $15 million funding round to support commercial operations, with Petrie describing that process as well underway. This expansion in European manufacturing capacity is a meaningful test of whether precision-fermented ingredients can translate from validated technology into reliable, high-volume supply, a challenge the broader alternative protein sector continues to navigate.
