Moolec Science, one of the finalists in the 2021 Fi Global Startup Innovation Challenge, is producing real animal proteins in plants to develop affordable animal-free ingredients.
April 19, 2022
is a science-based ingredients company using a disruptive technology in the alternative protein landscape. The company is currently leading the production of animal proteins in plants with meat and dairy replacements using soybean and pea, amongst others, and owns over 70 patents.
We caught up with co-founder, Gastòn Paladini, CEO & Co-founder, after their pitch in the Most Innovative Plant-Based or Alternative Ingredient category. Below are some of the highlights from the interview conducted on the show floor at Fi Europe 2021 in December:
Q: Can you tell me in a nutshell what is Moolec Science?
"We are engineering plants to produce animal proteins, directly in the seeds of the main plants used in food.plants to produce animal proteins, directly in the seeds of the main plants used in food."
Q: How did you develop it and what stage are you at?
"The beauty of our technology is actually [that] we are only modifying the seeds, and then, the biology and the current plant process does the rest. So it is a cost effective, affordable approach."
Q: What does it mean to you being a finalist in the Startup Challenge?
"... it is a good sign that other people are actually recognising what you are doing and understand your pathway, so it is really a good thing. Our team is really proud of being here in some way at this great event. At the same time it is a great opportunity to do networking, to look for collaborations, to start talking to other startups... We are open to collaborations, co-creations, partnerships, and JV's. We all have different approaches, but at the end of the day, the goal is the same. So we believe that if we could connect and collaborate and co-create in some way, we could achieve that faster. And that is what we need at the end of the day, good solutions."
For the last 10 years, Gastón has been a Board Member for Paladini Group - one of the largest meat producers in Latam - where he has committed to promoting innovation as a fundamental company value. Aware of the challenges that the food system needs to face and based on his experience, he began to explore the alternative protein landscape. He is currently CEO and Co-Founder of Moolec Science, a science-based ingredients company using plants to produce real animal proteins through a disruptive technology in the alternative protein landscape.
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