Change Foods Awarded a $3.1 Million Grant to Commercialize Innovative Ingredients with Queensland University of Technology
May 18, 2022 - 3 min read
(PALO ALTO, CA - May 17, 2022) – The Australian Commonwealth Government today announced Change Foods will be a key industry partner in the University of Queensland and Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) $164 million (AUD) Trailblazer Universities Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA). The multi-million dollar grant will be used to commercialize sustainable animal-free dairy ingredients and products made with precision fermentation technology.
Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Change Foods is an US-Australian food tech company originally founded in Australia by David Bucca and Professor Junior Te’o. The company has research laboratories and teams on both continents.
The grant accelerates an ongoing research collaboration between Change Foods and QUT, leveraging the University’s facilities in Brisbane and the new Queensland Government supported QUT Mackay Renewable Bio-commodities Pilot Plant. Over the last two years Change Foods has collaborated with QUT to pioneer the production of animal-free dairy, employing microbes in place of cows to produce real milk proteins. QUT Professor of Microbial Biotechnology, Robert Speight said, “QUT has the infrastructure and research expertise to support research in this area and accelerate the growth of precision fermentation industry partners such as Change Foods.”
On May 5, 2022 Change Foods announced a similar $1 million grant by the Commonwealth Government to work with QUT as part of the Securing Raw Materials Program designed to transform sugarcane products into valuable feedstocks for precision fermentation. “These two grants recognize the quality of our team and the progress we have achieved in a short space of time. Our ongoing FaBA research collaboration with QUT will further hasten our goal to bring animal-free dairy products to market in the near future,” said David Bucca, Founder and CEO of Change Foods.
Tom Davies, Vice President of Research and Operations (APAC) for Change Foods said, “we are excited the Commonwealth Government has recognized that Queensland - with its world-leading capabilities and teams of micro-biologist researchers - is uniquely positioned to help drive growth in synthetic biology and future food manufacturing. We look forward to working with State and Federal Governments to help Australia support this nascent industry and secure our share of this $700 billion global business.”
QUT and Change Foods are among a consortium of 18 research, industry and commercialization partners in the FaBA, a UQ-led food and beverage accelerator focused on alternative food manufacturing.
About Change Foods
Change Foods 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 products that are more sustainable and better for you. Change Foods is a US-Australian food tech company founded in May 2020 and headquartered in Palo Alto, CA.
