This article is an English translation of a Foovo article, published with permission from Foovo.
Kinish, a company that uses plant molecular farming to develop milk proteins, has raised 120 million yen ($800K) in a seed round.
Genesia Ventures, Lifetime Ventures, Full Commit Partners, and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital participated in the round.
Kinish is a startup founded by Hiroya Hashizume in January 2023 that uses molecular farming technology to develop a proprietary rice plant that produces casein, one of the main milk proteins found in milk. This rice is a dwarf variety with a height of 20 cm, and the company is also developing a plant factory to enable large-scale cultivation.
The funds raised will be used to accelerate R&D on casein production and plant factory R&D. In parallel with casein development using molecular farming, the company plans to commercialize rice-based ice cream and bring it to market in Japan and the US.
Kinish, which develops milk protein from rice, raises $800K
Source: Kinish
Kinish is developing a solution to completely replace dairy products by utilizing molecular farming to produce casein in rice, which is important for the elongation and smoothness of cheese. With this technology, Kinish aims to provide sustainable food products that do not require conventional livestock production and have a significantly reduced environmental impact.
While the market for alternative dairy products continues to grow, “taste” is often cited as the main reason consumers do not repeat purchases. Even if a product contributes to health, the environment, or animal welfare, if it doesn’t taste good, it will not gain traction.
“We believe that ‘a little excitement’ is an essential part of human life, and that good food plays a role in that. However, I fear that in the midst of impending environmental problems, opportunities to enjoy such culinary delights will decline at an accelerating rate,” says Hashizume.
“That is why we founded Kinish with the goal of spreading “delicious and sustainable food” around the world,” Hashizume said.
Currently, Kinish is working to launch a rice-based ice cream prior to molecular farming casein. The company is also continuing its recruitment efforts for the launch in Japan and the US.
To accelerate business development in the US, the company was selected last September for a support program supported by Wildcard Incubator and Union Kitchen.
In addition to Kinish, there are other companies working to develop milk proteins using molecular farming; Mozza Foods, Alpine Bio, and Miruku are major players, but none has yet received approval for milk proteins using molecular farming.
Mozza Foods, which is developing casein micelles utilizing soybeans, told Foovo last year that it aims to provide the first samples this year. Alpine Bio, also utilizing soybeans to develop casein, conducted a large-scale harvest of casein-containing soybeans in Nebraska last year.
Moolec Science, considered a pioneer in molecular farming, has received U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approval for peas that produce beef protein and soybeans that produce pork protein, and is gathering data for U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) certification.
Kinish’s unique plant-based approach has the potential to have a significant impact on the development of the alternative dairy market through molecular farming.
Photo:Kinish
