Interview ¦ IDM
Dr. Eyal Afergan, Co-Founder and CEO, Imagindairy: We are determined to bring a scalable and commercially viable solution
to produce animal free dairy protein (photo: Imagindairy)
IDM: How big is the amount of milk protein Imagindairy can
supply at the start and what will be the prices?
Afergan: Our plan is to create a flexible supply chain that will
allow us to address the need of our costumers. Our proprietary
technology allows us to boost production yield which will also
significantly contribute to flexible supply chain. Price levels will
be determined based on volume, commitment, marketing investment,
etc.
IDM: Is there an idea to lease out the fermentation technology
to third parties or does Imagindairy intend to keep full control?
Afergan: At first stage we are going to use subcontractors that
allow us full tracebility and transparency.
IDM: How will Imagindairy make sure it has enough capacities
to supply the market?
Afergan: The long-term strategy will combine independent
manufacturing capabilities and the use of subcontractors
which will provide us flexibility and stability of the supply
chain.
IDM: Are the regulatory issues all solved meanwhile?
Afergan: As we use a technology that has been used in the
food industry for the last 40 years for production of many different
enzymes, we are not expecting to face big challenges to
approve our products. Having said that, the regulatory process
of Novel Foods takes 2-3 years, approximatly.
September/October 2021 ¦ international-dairy.com · 7
/international-dairy.com
