Got synthetic?
Almonds, soy, cashew: Nowadays there are so many different types of milk it's hard to keep track of them all. Now, one Silicon Valley food technology start-up is hoping to add one more version to the mix. Berkeley, California-based Perfect Day is pioneering "synthetic milk," a dairy-free alternative to the breakfast mainstay that claims to resemble — and taste — just like the original.
Perfect Day is less for the Silicon Valley Soylent seeking tech foodie and more for the eco-friendly or vegan consumer. The company is eyeing either milk, cheese or yogurt as being part of its inaugural lineup of dairy-free alternatives. The company's dairy offerings are lactose-free, and they use 98 percent less water in production, according to a study performed by a team of conservation biologists.
Earlier this year, Perfect Day raised $4 million and is currently looking to raise more.
When co-founders Ryan Pandya and Perumal Gandhi decided to join forces, they drew from a shared background in medicine, applying medical technology to creating food. Pandya came from nonprofit Mass Biologics which is a division of the University of Massachusetts medical school, where Gandhi was working on a master's degree in tissue engineering.
At first, they were struck by the idea of "cultured meat," a technology that could allow labs to grow organs for humans or muscle tissue for animals without the use of any actual animals. When they first began that quest in 2014, the technology was unfeasible.
Instead, the two men thought they could capitalize on something they both shared in common: A plant-based diet.
"Interestingly we didn't know each other at the time but Perumal and I had both recently adopted a plant-based diet," Pandya told CNBC in a recent interview.
"We found that when it came to finding something to put in your cereal or to put in your coffee, there were decent things out there for people that scratched the itch [like] soy milk, almond milk," he said. "When it comes to everything else that you do with cow's milk, the cheese or ice cream, that compelling option is not available yet."
With almond and soy milk, for example, creating cheese would likely result in something a bit more like tofu, Perfect Day's founders told CNBC.
Their product is made from milk proteins, but without the addition of gums or fillers to make up for the lack of protein the way other alternatives might. They have engineered lactose away from their dairy products, the lactose being the milk's sugar. Instead, they use plant-based sugar so the final product is both cholesterol- and lactose-free. The taste ends up being close to regular milk.