Savor

As the global food industry faces the environmental consequences of traditional animal agriculture, the need for sustainable alternatives and innovation has grown. Consumers are becoming more aware of their options as they try to balance their cravings against their views of environmental sustainability. This changing dynamic is driving food tech startup development that is focusing on scalable and sustainable solutions that do not skimp on flavor or nutrition.

Savor is a startup from San Jose, established in 2022. It is a company that is spearheading this movement. The firm is developing lab-grown animal fats with CEO Kathleen Alexander leading the way. Savor uses a fermentation process to produce animal fats that emulate the flavor, texture, and functionalities of fats from dairy and meat but produced without animals at all. The company is doing this by combining carbon dioxide (CO₂) and hydrogen gas, with oxygen, to convert GHG emissions into food-grade fats that can be used in a multitude of products as an alternative supply of fat. Savor's product will help transform the food supply chain by dissociating fat from animals and removing the environmentally harmful effects livestock farming has on land use, methane emission, and water usage. Savor is targeting food producers and plant-based brands because many, if not all, face difficulties replicating the experience of animal fat within products. Adding their ingredients will allow brands to create better-tasting, more satiating plant-based products while ensuring the planet is not compromised.

Savor's platform is more than just a scientific step forward; it is a scalable solution for the future of food. The company has developed a pipeline of products - animal-free butter, animal-free fats, and fatty flavor enhancers - that are designed as "drop-in" ingredients for existing manufacturing systems, which means that producers can begin to build sustainability into their supply chains without needing to reinvent their existing production processes. In animals, our usable fats have multi-functionality: Savor can make dairy alternatives creamy, provide texture benefits to meat analogue products, and work across applications in baking without relying on additives, cholesterol, or antibiotics. Their fats are also metabolically identical to animal fats, making them functional and aware to consumers.

Savor is currently solely operating in the U.S., based in San Jose, California, with a pilot production facility in Batavia, Illinois. The company is expanding across borders, focusing on European and Japanese markets in particular, where regulations are being finalized for novel food ingredients. The firm intends to license its technology to food producers internationally, eventually aiming to be a network of decentralized, low-footprint fat production facilities. On the financial side, Savor has some high-profile investors. In 2023 they raised a seed round of $10.3 million. In February 2024, raised $23 million, in a Series A Investment, which added to a total of $33.3 million raised. Notable investors include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, founded by Bill Gates, Mondelez International, Climate Capital, CPT Capital and Synthesis Capital. Funds raised have brought Savor's valuation to approximately $51 million.

As of 2024, Savor has a team of 43, showcasing its growth and expansion of its innovative solutions. The firm is also developing its own fermentation equipment, to make its process more cost-efficient and modular. The technology will help with regional food production, reduce transport emissions, and further the sustainability of food production. In 2023, Savor was recognized as one of the "Top 50 Climate Tech Startups to Watch" by a number of innovation think tanks. Its early prototypes have passed sensory panels of food scientists and chefs with impressive marks because of their authenticity and richness. There is growing demand for food products that are ethically and environmentally friendly - this offers an opportunity for Savor to lead a new form of clean, tasty innovation.

While Savor has traction, FoodTech contains others like Perfect Day and Nourish Ingredients. But, Savor’s focus is on fats—it is a parameter of flavor and mouthfeel that we often forget about. Most competitors are just capitalizing on protein or sugar alternatives, leaving them the space to occupy in between. Savor offers a carbon negative proposition and compatibility at the ingredient level, and not only does this provide novelty, it also provides logistics. Savor is not just innovating in food—they are co-creating the infrastructure about food production.

Savor will dependably continue to enhance the technology and build a global network of partners, fundamentally changing the way that the world feeds itself. Savor, rule, fatigue CEO Kathleen Alexander, expresses the company's vision as follows: "At Savor, we are not just reimagining fat, but what's possible when sustainability meets flavor." Their innovative technology, mission-driven culture, and rapidly growing support suggest the company's defining role in the future of food. As we live in a world where each bite has meaning, Savor is helping us eat better without compromise.

Click here to access Savor's website.