In London, Breyers will soon introduce a chocolate ice cream that replaces lactose with a whey protein produced by precision fermentation. The new offering was made possible by a collaboration between Unilever—Breyers parent company—and foodtech startup Perfect Day. Breyers says the ice cream has the same taste and texture as ice cream made from dairy but boasts a 97% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Perfect Day interim CEO TM Narayan tells Fast Company the protein delivers the same mouthfeel as dairy protein. “We hope that this is a start of something quite significant in terms of how we can apply our unique ingredient in different places, especially with such a large partner,” Narayan added.
Unilever is targeting net zero Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions by 2039. Agriculture and livestock industries currently account for more than a third of global methane emissions.