Change Foods has unveiled plans to open an animal-free dairy manufacturing plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The company has signed an agreement with Kezad Group to design the commercial facility, which will be located in Abu Dhabi.

Producing animal-free milk protein, the planned facility will be the first of its kind in the region, according to Change Foods. The project has the support of the UAE government under the NextGen FDI initiative.

Produced using precision fermentation, the company’s casein is identical to that made by cows and can be used to create cheese with the same texture, taste and melting characteristics as conventional offerings.

“We are honoured to be a part of the UAE’s NextGen FDI initiative and grateful for the strategic partnership with Kezad Group,” said David Bucca, founder and CEO of Change Foods. 

“NextGen FDI is prioritising successful scaling of new sustainable food technologies like ours that offer significant environmental and economic development benefits. The strategic alignment behind our company’s vision to help transition the world to more sustainable food systems by scaling new food production technology was clear from the start.”  

Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade, added: “We are excited to welcome Change Foods to the UAE and further catalyse the nation’s food-tech ecosystem, which will help reduce our reliance on imports, enhance local production and inspire further innovation”.

Change Foods has also disclosed that it is in the final stages of closing a bridge funding round.