“This marks a significant stride towards the production of consumer-ready milk and dairy, reaffirming TurtleTree’s status as a leading player in the field of sustainable nutrition,” the company stated.
The 24,000-square-foot facility located in West Sacramento will house the company’s research hub where the company will continue to explore and develop precision fermentation technology currently being used to produce milk ingredients such as lactoferrin (a protein found in cow and human milk with important immunological properties).
TurtleTree has also developed a process of culturing human mammary cells to produce ‘real’ breastmilk with similar properties and composition to mother’s milk, bridging the gap between infant formula and breastmilk.
The lab will also help connect TurtleTree to US-based educational institutions, research-focused partners, strategic partners, future customers, and investors.
The lab will create approximately 40 new tech-related jobs in the Greater Sacramento area spanning positions in food science to engineering.
“Establishing this R&D facility in Greater Sacramento marks the first step towards bringing our unique products from development to market… We’re eagerly looking forward to working with the brilliant talent in the area and building a future generation of nutrition that we can all enjoy for decades to come,” said TurtleTree CEO and co-founder, Fengru Lin.