Fermentation, used by human civilizations for thousands of years, involves using a microorganism—“fungi”— which can transform organic materials into a rich and diverse set of useful products, such as bread, cheese, beer, and wine. 

Fermentation-based startups have gained favorable investor support, with the segment reaching around 25% of total accumulated funding within the plant-based meat industry as of 2021, increasing from 14.7% in 2017. In 2021 alone, fermentation-based startups have raised more than USD 800 million in funding—35% of total annual funds raised in the plant-based meat space (compared to 6% in 2015) led by the USD 350 million Series C round of Nature’s Fynd and the USD 226 million Series B funding round of Motif Foodworks.

Most of the startups using fermentation have been successful in developing meat analogs and essential components such as fat and myoglobin (which give meat its flavor and aroma) that are much closer to animal meat than the other plant-based meat alternatives available in the market. Further, producing fermentation-based meat is more sustainable than their plant-based counterparts, because of its efficiency and low production cost.