Perfect Day—a pioneer in the “animal-free dairy” space making whey proteins via precision fermentation—says it expects initial operations to begin at its new production facility in Gujarat, India, in the second half of 2026. This will be followed by a “controlled ramp-up” into 2027.
The firm, which has raised more than $825 million since it was founded in 2014, is under intense pressure to deliver. However, chief operational officer Marshall Bredwell told AgFunderNews that the joint venture between Perfect Day and Zydus Lifesciences that’s behind the new plant is “confident in instant profitability at plant launch.”
He added: “This foundation will stabilize the business and provide a clear path to further commercial improvements over time. Our strategy has always been to ensure that our precision fermentation platform is commercially viable at scale, not just in a lab setting.
“As this is a first-of-its-kind precision fermentation facility at this scale, we are proceeding deliberately to ensure long-term reliability and product quality.”
‘Demand significantly outpaces our supply’
Asked what commitments Perfect Day has from customers for the new facility, he said: “Although we are still collecting LOIs [letters of intent], these are primarily focused on plant 2 capacity planning. For our current plant, we have already converted LOIs into signed commercial contracts and are effectively sold out.
“Demand significantly outpaces our supply, and many of our anchor customers have already expressed interest in additional offtake as soon as our capacity expands.”
According to Bredwell: “The rise in high-protein beverage consumption and GLP-1–related behavior shifts has further reinforced demand for clean, clear, high-functionality proteins like BLG [beta-lactoglobulin, the primary protein in whey].
“Customers increasingly view BLG not as a novelty ingredient but as a strategic input for future product development and supply chain planning.”
Security of supply and functionality, not ESG, driving demand
Interest is being driven by the need for security of supply in a volatile global dairy market and the “superior functionality and performance” of BLG, especially in clear, high-protein applications (solubility, clean flavor, and a desirable amino acid profile), he said. There is also increasing demand for lactose-free dairy products and interest from “sports, active nutrition, and medical nutrition customers.”
Meeting ESG goals is an “added benefit rather than the core purchase motivator,” he explained.
“We see sustainability as a cherry on top value proposition. Customers increasingly prioritize functionality, nutrition, supply and performance as their primary decision drivers.”
While some players in precision-fermented dairy are tailoring offerings to higher-end health and nutrition markets by focusing on pricier proteins such as lactoferrin or functionalizing recombinant dairy proteins to add more value, Perfect Day is focused on BLG for the time being, said Bredwell.
“Perfect Day sees meaningful opportunity in these other areas, but our near-term focus remains on scalable, performance-driven dairy proteins, where we see the largest immediate demand and the clearest commercialization path.”
A turbulent year
The high-profile legal dispute between Perfect Day and former co-manufacturer Olon was resolved in January 2025, with court records showing that the litigation was voluntarily dismissed with each party agreeing to cover its own legal expenses.
In a statement sent to AgFunderNews, the company said it had “amicably” resolved its differences with Olon, which has since joined as an investor despite previously describing Perfect Day as “an atrocious business partner” in court documents.
At the time, Perfect Day said it was looking for a “visionary, world-class CEO” following the departure of Narayan TM, who took the helm on an interim basis in 2023 following the departure of founders Ryan Pandya and Perumal Gandhi.
No CEO has since been announced, but AgFunderNews understands that Bredwell is leading day-to-day operations, while co-chairs Aftab Mathur from Temasek and Patrick Zhang from Horizons Ventures (two key investors) are “deeply involved.”
‘You need investors with deep pockets’
According to one source close to the company, Perfect Day’s “tech works, and if they can successfully build this plant I believe what comes out will be profitable as we’re talking COGS that nobody else has been able to deliver. So it is real, but it took a lot of money and a lot of time to get to that strain with those titers, and you need investors with deep pockets that are willing to believe.
“Even now, though, I think they’ll have to raise again next year. If they get BLG production up and running and it succeeds, over the next 10 years, I’m sure people will go down that path [of looking at other recombinant proteins such as lactoferrin] as this protein alone [BLG] will not be enough to justify any of the valuations. But things scale so slowly in biotech, so the plant in India took two and a half years and in the US, it’ll be four to five [to get a new plant up and running].”
That said, the business case for recombinant whey protein has become more compelling in the past year or two as [animal-derived] whey protein prices in the US have gone up significantly, with demand exceeding supply, he noted.
“Every company, big ones on the coffee side, beverage side, are getting into protein in beverage. And for that, you need whey protein. Nobody is focused on ESG; it’s purely the trend of wanting more protein in things. For example, Starbucks has recently expanded its menu in the US and Canada to include protein lattes and protein cold foam, which use whey protein isolate.”
Deceptive marketing lawsuit vs Perfect Day on ice
In other news, a judge handling a deceptive marketing lawsuit alleging Perfect Day misled consumers about its animal-free dairy products has granted a request from the parties to stay the case (put it on ice) pending mediation and settlement discussions.
Rebecca Cross, founding partner at law firm Greenfare Law, told AgFunderNews in a recent interview that this was the first lawsuit she had seen regarding the marketing of a precision-fermented animal-free protein but likely not the last. She added: “It illustrates the tightrope companies walk when naming alternative ingredients.” Read more about that case here.
Scaling whey proteins via precision fermentation
Most firms making whey protein via precision fermentation are working with co-manufacturers as VC funds have proved reluctant to fund large-scale capex projects and banks have been unwilling to finance technology that has not yet been proven in the marketplace.
👉 Vivici (Netherlands): A startup formed by Fonterra and DSM-Firmenich, Vivici has European partners able to produce BLG at industrial scale, and recently struck a deal with Liberation Bioindustries to manufacture in the US at its facility in Indiana, with production set to begin next year.
👉 Remilk (Israel): Remilk had originally planned to build its own large-scale facility in Denmark but now works with co-packers in North America and Asia. It recently partnered with Gad Dairies to launch lactose-free milk in Israel.
👉 Imagindairy (Israel): Israeli firm Imagindairy acquired a site with 100,000-L of fermentation capacity and associated downstream processing capabilities at an undisclosed location in early 2024. It recently unveiled plans to launch ‘cow-free’ products featuring BLG with Israeli food giant Strauss Group.
👉21st.BIO: A precision fermentation technology provider based in Copenhagen, 21st BIO helps companies scale microbial production of proteins such as BLG using tech that is in part licensed from Novonesis.
Players with tech to make casein proteins via precision fermentation include: Fooditive/Leprino Foods, Change Foods, New Culture, Eden Brew, Standing Ovation, Those Vegan Cowboys, DairyX, Nutropy, All G, and Formo, which are all at different stages of development.
Further reading:
Exclusive: Perfect Day buries legal hatchet with co-manufacturer; searches for new CEO
Perfect Day urges court to toss deceptive marketing lawsuit over animal-free dairy
🎥 The next frontier for animal-free dairy? ‘Slow-release’ mineral delivery, says Eden Brew
