Breast milk is a nutrient of such complexity that it would be impossible to replicate it perfectly.
However, a handful of food-tech companies took up the challenge of getting as close as possible with very promising results. Here you have a quick overview of who they are and what they’re trying to accomplish.

Biomilq
Biomilq was founded in 2020 by two women, Michelle Egger and Leila Strickland. The start-up uses cell culture technology to produce breast milk that is as close as possible to the one produced by mammary glands.

Rather than recreating breast milk directly, Biomilq cultivates mammary epithelial cells in a growth medium. These cells then arrange themselves around a 3D structure, mimicking the physiology of the breast. As these cells continue to absorb nutrients, they start producing milk, which is then collected.

Find out more about Biomilq: biomilq.com

Biomilk
Biomilk was founded in Israel in 2018 with the mission of producing better infant formula more sustainably using cell-based technology. The company has Coca Cola Israel among its backers. In May 2021, Biomilk  started a feasibility study to produce cultured breast milk directly from milk cells.

Find out more about Biomilk : biomilk.com

Sugarlogix
Sugarlogix uses yeast fermentation to produce human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs). HMOs are complex functional sugars that are only found in human milk and are a key ingredient missing from infant formulas.

HMOs have a prebiotic effect that protects babies from pathogens and strengthens their immunity system by building their microbiome.

Find out more about Sugarlogix: sugarlogix.com

Turtle Tree Labs
Turtle Tree Labs is a biotechnology company based in Singapore that uses cellular agriculture to produce milk for both infant and adult nutrition.

Turtle Tree is focused on producing a key component of breast milk: lactoferrin, a protein with important antimicrobial properties. Lactoferrin is typically extracted from animal milk through a complex process that makes it one of the most expensive dairy ingredients available.

Recently, the company announced the imminent launch of its first lactoferrin ingredient.

Find out more about Turtle Tree Labs: turtletree.co

Helaina
Helaina was founded in 2019, but it’s still in the early development stage. It uses a proprietary microbial fermentation process to produce breast milk that is very close to real human milk.

Find out more about Helaina: myhelaina.com

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