Lypid To Use New Funding For Manufacturing Vegan Fats

Lypid enters the business-to-business vegan fats market with PhytoFat, a plant-based fat with a nutritional profile and a rich, authentic mouthfeel.

FREMONT, CA: Extrudable fat replicates animal fat in plant-based foods, allowing more natural fat textures, such as marbling, to be achieved. It is possible to run fat through an extruder and then combine it with protein to make a superior ingredient where the fat and the protein are physically connected. Lypid, the maker of vegan fats that taste and behave like animal fats has raised $4 million in a seed round led by Green Generation Fund, with participation from Big Idea Ventures, Foodland Ventures, SOSVs IndieBio, and others. The founders of Lypid, "Taiwanese Ph.D.s who met at Cornell University," Jen-Yu Huang and Michelle Lee, indicate that the cash will be used to bring their product to market in 2022, following which they intend to develop further in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

"Foodland Ventures, who focuses on AgriFood tech in APAC and North America, is among the investors that are excited about Lypid’s ability to transform the food industry. Their technology creates great diversity for plant-based fats. It could be the vital ingredient for better-tasting plant-based meats or a healthier alternative for traditional meat-based products," states Victor Chen, co-founder, and CEO of Foodland Ventures. "We have already received positive responses for Lypid's technology from large-scale producers in the APAC region."

When cooked above 329 degrees Fahrenheit, Lypid’s product, PhytoFat, retains its animal fat-like characteristics due to the company's innovative formulation and microencapsulation process (165 Celsius). The firm's formulation and technique result in vegan fats with juicy animal-like textures and melting characteristics, longer flavor delivery, and a superior nutritional profile to other plant-based fats. With no artificial additives, no hydrogenation, and no trans fats, Lypid intends to position PhytoFat as a healthier option to the current plant-based protein market, mainly relying on palm oil and coconut oil.

"Not only since the pandemic, but the market for plant-based meat has also exploded. But plant-based meat has a long way to go" because it's missing a convincing equivalent to animal fat," states Dr. Manon Sarah Littek, lead investor and Founding Partner of the Green Generation Fund. "Our team is looking forward to supporting Michelle and Jen-Yu in launching their product to market and building an outstanding ingredient provider to contribute to a more environmentally sustainable future."

"As participants in the SOSV life sciences program IndieBio in 2021, together, the Lypid founders transitioned from the mindset of a scientist to that of an entrepreneur to form their B2B go-to-market strategy. We see fat as a critical catalyst to bring meat alternatives to the next level" tastier, healthier, and more sustainable," states Lypid co-founder Jen-Yu Huang. "Now, our goal is to bring production of PhytoFat to the industrial level. We are aiming to produce more than 10 tons per year for each production line."