Plant-Based Pioneer Those Vegan Cowboys Secures €6.25 Million in Funding for Crowdfunding Launch

A FoodTech startup based in Ghent, Those Vegan Cowboys, has successfully raised €6.25 million in its initial funding round to expedite the advancement of its cow-free casein, a crucial dairy protein created through precision fermentation. The company is gearing up to launch a crowdfunding initiative in the upcoming months.

The funding round was spearheaded by Pieter Geelen, one of the founders of navigation behemoth TomTom, and saw participation from Westland Kaas, the Dutch cheese producer renowned for Old Amsterdam, as well as Wouter Veenboer, co-founder of the ad automation platform ProductHero. This financial injection will sustain the startup’s activities for the next two years as it nears regulatory approval in the United States and prepares for commercialization.

CEO Hille van der Kaa underlines the importance of this funding, stating: “This marks the convergence of sustainability, technology, and industry. Our partners acknowledge that animal-free casein is no longer a distant dream but ready for practical implementation. This investment propels us from research and development to market entry.”

The year has witnessed a continuous influx of funding in precision fermentation and related FoodTech sectors, setting the stage for Those Vegan Cowboys’ €6.25 million first-round financing.

Recent instances include PFx Biotech from Porto securing €2.5 million to produce allergy-free human milk proteins via precision fermentation, and SUMM Ingredients from Copenhagen raising €1.7 million to expedite the commercial deployment of its fermented protein ingredient for food producers. In a later phase, Revyve from the Netherlands concluded a €24 million Series B funding round to expand yeast-based proteins designed to substitute eggs and additives in mainstream food items.

EU-Startups has also covered Fungu’it, which garnered €4 million for the development of fungi-based natural flavorings, and EvodiaBio, a Copenhagen-headquartered company that secured €6 million to scale fermentation-driven flavor technologies for industrial use.

Collectively, these 2025 funding rounds represent an approximate €38 million investment in fermentation-led and closely associated FoodTech innovation, excluding Those Vegan Cowboys’ own financing.

These figures indicate a sustained allocation of capital in adjacent European markets, particularly in alternative proteins, functional ingredients, and fermentation-enabled food technologies.

Frank Fischer, CFO of Westland Kaas, comments: “At Westland Kaas, we have always melded tradition with technology. We persist in investing in innovation to redefine cheese for future generations. Our support for Those Vegan Cowboys mirrors our dedication to open innovation and next-gen food technologies.”

Those Vegan Cowboys was established in 2020 by former The Vegetarian Butcher founders Jaap Korteweg and Niko Koffeman. The company’s innovation lies in producing casein – the primary protein in traditional dairy – using microbes instead of cows. This methodology enables the creation of cheese that mirrors its dairy equivalent but without any animal involvement.

The company is now gearing up to engage the public through a crowdfunding campaign – potentially the first of its kind in the precision fermentation dairy domain. This initiative aims not only to raise additional funds but also to bolster brand recognition and consumer support.

Tastings of their cheese prototypes are slated for 2026 in the Netherlands, offering early supporters the opportunity to experience the outcomes firsthand.

Investor Wouter Veenboer also underscores the escalating need for sustainable alternatives, expressing: “This has the potential to be a groundbreaking development. With the intensification of livestock farming, the urgency to reduce reliance on animals becomes more pressing. Cheese ranks among the products consumers miss the most when transitioning away from dairy. I am thrilled to contribute to realizing this vision.”