Düsseldorf, 02.12.2022
ProteinDistillery won the German Sustainability Award 2023, Next Economy Award (NEA). The Stuttgart-based start-up has managed to develop a unique, innovative process that can be used to extract vegan, sustainable proteins from brewer’s yeast – a residual material from brewing beer – to produce egg, cheese, milk or meat alternatives.
In times of increasing inflation, worsening climate conditions and steady population growth, the ProteinDistillery team wants to offer people a nutrient-rich alternative to conventional, usually meat-based foods that is both sustainably produced and free of toxins. Thus, the company has managed to produce an almost 1:1 copy of animal protein. And in doing so, they are not only upcycling – creating something new from a waste product – but also enabling beer breweries in particular to tap into new sales potential in a challenging market environment. So, to produce the world’s most functional and sustainable vegan protein, the ProteinDistillery breaks down brewer’s yeast, and the proteins bound within it, into their individual components. The final product can then be used in a variety of ways in the food industry. Thus, any animal components such as gelatin or the conventional egg, as well as artificial additives such as flavor enhancers, stabilizers, or methylcellulose can be eliminated from food production.
Prof. Dr-Ing. Tomas Kurz, Co-Founder
