Danone, a French food and beverage manufacturer, via its corporate venture arm Danone Manifesto Ventures, has acquired a minority stake in Israeli animal-free dairy startup Imaginary for an undisclosed amount.

Imagindairy develops animal-free dairy proteins from microorganisms via proprietary precision fermentation technology. The company expects to achieve commercialization by 2023 and plans to launch beta-lactoglobulin (whey protein) with several other milk proteins including casein and alpha-lactalbumin in the pipeline.

Through this acquisition, Danone aims to collaborate on projects in the animal-free dairy space to explore potential business applications and help expedite the growth of Imagindairy by providing strategic and operational support.

Analyst QuickTake: One of Imagindairy’s set targets was to achieve price parity with animal milk ahead of upcoming commercialization. It also planned to diversify its product portfolio by collaborating with major dairy food producers. With this investment from Danone, the company could achieve both of its above-mentioned goals by leveraging Danon’s industry expertise and business know-how.