Melt&Marble Raises €7 Million to Scale Designer Fats Production

Sweden‘s Melt&Marble secures €7 million in fresh funding to commercialize fermentation-based fats, targeting the taste gap in the plant-based meat sector.

The quest to make plant-based meat indistinguishable from animal products has taken a significant financial leap forward as Melt&Marble, a food technology startup based in Gothenburg, Sweden, announced the successful closure of a €7 million funding round. This capital injection aims to accelerate the commercialization of the company’s proprietary precision fermentation technology, which produces “designer fats” without the need for animals. The investment comes at a critical time for the alternative protein industry, which has been seeking innovative solutions to improve the sensory experience of vegan products to win over carnivore consumers.

Engineering Yeast to Mimic Beef

Founded by Anastasia Krivoruchko and Florian David, Melt&Marble operates at the intersection of biology and engineering. The company utilizes a process known as precision fermentation, where yeast strains are metabolically engineered to convert simple sugars into fats. Unlike generic plant oils such as coconut or palm oil, which are currently the industry standard for vegan burgers, Melt&Marble‘s fats are molecularly identical to animal fats.

Krivoruchko, the company’s CEO, has frequently noted that fat is the defining factor in the flavor and mouthfeel of meat. Current plant-based alternatives often melt too quickly on the grill or lack the distinct “sizzling” quality of beef tallow. Melt&Marble addresses this by creating fats that replicate the specific melting points and flavor release profiles of beef, chicken, or pork, allowing food manufacturers to create products that behave exactly like real meat during cooking.

Scaling for Commercial Launch

The newly raised €7 million will be primarily allocated to scaling up production capabilities. While the company has successfully produced these fats at a pilot scale, the next phase involves industrial manufacturing to supply food brands across Europe and the United States. The company indicated that a portion of the funds will also support the regulatory approval process, which is necessary before these novel ingredients can be sold to consumers.

Strategic investors in this round include heavyweights in the food-tech space, signaling strong institutional confidence in the science. The syndicate reportedly includes Nordic Foodtech VC and other partners who see fermentation-based ingredients as the next logical step in the evolution of sustainable food systems.

Solving the Palm Oil Problem

Beyond taste, Melt&Marble frames its technology as an environmental imperative. The plant-based industry’s reliance on coconut and palm oil has drawn criticism due to the deforestation associated with tropical agriculture and the high carbon footprint of transporting these oils globally. By producing fats in local bioreactors, Melt&Marble offers a supply chain that is not only more resilient but also significantly less damaging to the planet’s biodiversity.

Industry analysts suggest that “hybrid products”—meat alternatives that mix plant proteins with fermentation-derived fats—are likely to dominate the market in 2026. This funding positions the Swedish startup as a key supplier in this emerging B2B market.

The Future of Fat

This development marks a maturation point for the alternative protein sector. In the early 2020s, the focus was largely on protein extraction. Now, the focus has shifted to “enabling technologies” like fat synthesis. As Melt&Marble moves toward commercial launch, the company plans to expand its team of synthetic biologists and bioprocess engineers to refine its platform, eventually creating fats that are not just mimics, but potentially healthier versions of their animal counterparts.