Pacifico Biolabs Raises €7M to Brew Mycelium Chicken in Idle Beer Tanks
- Marc Violo
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
German startup Pacifico Biolabs closed a €7M Series A round to scale production and launch its mycelium-based chicken alternative across European markets by late 2026.
The company grows fungal protein in repurposed beer-brewing fermentation tanks, a method it claims saves more than 95% of the capital expenditure required by conventional biomass fermentation approaches.
The model directly targets the three persistent obstacles in alternative protein: cost, texture, and nutrition, while arriving at a moment when declining European beer consumption has left vast fermentation infrastructure idle.
A Pivot to Chicken, Powered by Idle Brewery Tanks
Leipzig-headquartered Pacifico Biolabs closed its Series A in mid-2025, drawing investment from Stray Dog Capital, TGFS (a Saxony-focused fund), Sprout & About Ventures, Simon Capital, FoodLabs, and a regional brewery partner. The round follows a $3.3M raise in 2024 and a €680,000 non-dilutive grant from SAB, Saxony's development bank.
The startup originally targeted seafood alternatives as its first product category before pivoting to chicken, which it now sells to business-to-business clients under the Viando label. Co-founder and CEO Zac Austin has said the shift was driven by direct customer demand, and by the company's ability to produce a high-quality chicken product through its existing process.
The funds will be used to scale production to 200 tonnes per month in Saxony, expand the team, and establish commercial partnerships to bring mycelium chicken to supermarkets in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Nordics by late 2026.
How the Fermentation Process Works
Pacifico Biolabs grows mycelium, the root-like network of filaments that makes up a fungus, by feeding it a sugar-rich broth inside fermentation tanks. The fungi multiply into a dense, protein-rich biomass whose fibrous structure naturally resembles whole-muscle meat. That biomass is then harvested, shaped, and sliced, requiring minimal additional processing.
The central commercial insight is the use of tanks originally designed for brewing beer, rather than purpose-built bioreactors that can cost tens of millions of pounds to construct. Beer production in the EU has fallen for five consecutive years, and German beer sales dropped by a record 6% in 2025, leaving fermentation capacity sitting unused across the continent. Pacifico Biolabs repurposes that idle infrastructure, adding some supplementary equipment without building a dedicated production site. Austin has characterised the capital saving as exceeding 95% compared with conventional approaches.
Nutrition, Clean Labels, and Environmental Claims
The mycelium chicken carries a nutritional profile that positions it well in the current European market. According to the company, the product contains 30% protein, all essential amino acids, high fibre, and low fat, and can be formulated with as few as five ingredients, or, in some formulations, fungi alone.
That matters because European consumers are increasingly wary of ultra-processed foods (UPFs), products containing numerous additives and industrial ingredients. Polls cited in the source material suggest 65% of European consumers are concerned about the health impact of UPFs, and 54% avoid plant-based meat products specifically because of their degree of processing. Mycelium's naturally fibrous texture reduces the need for binders, emulsifiers, or flavour additives that typically inflate ingredient lists.
On environmental grounds, Pacifico Biolabs claims its mycelium chicken requires up to 99% less land and 90% less water than conventional chicken, while generating 90% fewer greenhouse gas emissions. These figures have not been independently verified in peer-reviewed literature, and as with many lifecycle comparisons in alternative proteins, the precise figure depends on methodology and baseline assumptions.
The company is continuing to develop seafood and pork variants alongside its chicken product, though neither has reached commercial launch. The broader test will come when Pacifico Biolabs moves from pilot volumes to its stated 200-tonne monthly target, a threshold at which production economics and product consistency will face their most demanding scrutiny.
