No wonder the project is called Mix-Pro!
The Mix-Pro project in Wageningen is a public-private partnership focused on developing animal-free proteins from precision fermentation for food applications. It aims to create a toolbox to help food companies develop high-quality, affordable products by blending these new proteins with plant-based proteins.
In October 2025, our Chief R&D Officer, Paul Cornillon was at Wageningen University in the Netherlands at the project kick-off. The primary objective of the project is to understand and characterise the interaction between precision fermentation and proteins from plant ingredients. While multiple plant ingredients are in scope, precision fermentation is used to mimic Beta Lactoglobulin, Milk Casein, and Egg Albumen.
The project will research physicochemical and functional properties of these new proteins as well as work on optimising the manufacturing processes of selected food products by adjusting pH, temperature, ratio between plant proteins and precision fermented ones, and nutrient levels among other levers, to improve product quality, functionality, and consumer appeal.
An AI tool is being developed to predict and optimise the flavour profiles of protein blends, mimicking the taste and nutrition profile of traditional bakery and dairy products. The university is investing in a customised, high throughput robot that will prepare a variety of blends in varying proportion of ingredients and at different temperatures.
PlanetDairy is joined by other industry partners and the project will run until 2029.
