SAN JOSE, CA, September 14th, 2021 – Change Foods, a US-Australian precision fermentation dairy start-up, announced it has set up R&D operations inside BioCube San Jose, one of the oldest and most respected life science incubators in Silicon Valley.
BioCube is already home to some of the most dynamic start-ups and success stories in Silicon Valley, including famous alumni like Impossible Foods. The recently modernized facility comprises 64,000 square feet of office, wet lab, dining, outdoor, concept, and research space that lends itself perfectly to the Change Foods collaborative vision.
Driven by the mission to create a sustainable, thriving, and kind food system, Change Foods is creating animal-free dairy and is focusing its efforts on cheese as the holy grail of vegan foods. Change Foods uses emerging food technology called precision fermentation to create real dairy proteins using microbes encoded with dairy DNA, which are necessary to create the stretch and melt of traditional dairy cheese without any cows involved. To accelerate product development efforts, the company required a sophisticated R&D facility like BioCube that understood their needs.
“We couldn’t be happier to bring Change Foods R&D facility to BioCube. We were drawn to the immaculate, modern, custom office and lab spaces, complete with sunny outdoor amenities and inviting shared spaces,” said David Bucca, Founder & CEO of Change Foods.
“Change Foods is a visionary start-up with outstanding leadership in dairy microbiology,” said BioCube CEO Tony Gonzalez. “When they asked us to collaborate on a workspace that would inspire their people and accelerate R&D, we were thrilled to roll up our sleeves and help bring their space to life. They are the kind of client we envisioned when we began our expansion plans over a year ago,” he added.
Producing dairy proteins via precision fermentation at scale and cost necessary to enable a successful food business model is no small feat, but the company Co-Founder and CTO, Junior Te’o, and his team of research scientists are up for the challenge. “It is the opportunity of a lifetime to develop cutting-edge precision fermentation technology to provide a viable alternative to unsustainable modern animal agriculture,” said Te’o.
“We are not just creating exciting new technology, we are creating a new mission-driven food company, and our R&D facility is very much an extension of our approach to building the company that cares about the people as much as it does about the planet,” said Bucca.
Change Foods is growing and plans to hire several researchers at BioCube to add members to its impressive team of mission-driven scientists. The south San Jose location provides easy access to the rapidly growing food tech ecosystem, as well as incredible lifestyle amenities of the Bay Area.
About Change Foods
Founded in 2020, Change Foods is a US-Australian food tech start-up headquartered in Palo Alto, CA. The company is creating animal-free dairy foods by leveraging precision fermentation technology, starting with cheese. By harnessing the power of microbes instead of animals to create real dairy proteins and fats, the company is producing animal-free dairy foods that are indistinguishable from their animal-based predecessors in taste and texture while delivering better-for-you and more sustainable products.
Change Foods is backed by several prominent investors, including Plug and Play Ventures, Clear Current Capital, Google icon Jeff Dean, Canaccord Genuity, Better Bite Ventures, and an Italian fund GERBER-RAUTH among others. The company recently closed a $2.1M round of funding and is gearing up to launch its first product, animal-free cheese, in the US in 2023.
About BioCube
In everything we do, we believe in making the world a better place for innovators by providing user-friendly workspaces, modern labs, and common areas as clean and safe as they are beautifully designed and maintained. We thrill at giving care and all the little things that help accelerate and commercialize profound discoveries. Located in South San Jose, the original BioCube incubator is already home to some of the most dynamic early-stage companies pushing the limits of life sciences. To learn more, visit http://www.sanjosebiocube.com/expansion.
Media Contacts:
Irina Gerry, CMO for Change Foods
irina@changefoods.com
617.797.1504
Jane Lalonde, CMO for BioCube
Jane@matchcmo.com
650.766.1909
