The Dairy-Free Protein That Outperforms Real Whey

French food-tech firm Verley raises $38M to bring precision-fermented whey protein to US manufacturers by late 2026

6 Mar 2026

A French food-technology company has secured $38 million in fresh capital to scale a precision-fermented dairy protein and begin supplying U.S. food manufacturers as early as the third quarter of 2026, adding a new dimension to the country's evolving protein supply chain.

Verley, founded in 2021, closed an oversubscribed Series A round led by Alven and supported by Bpifrance, Blast, Sofinnova, Sparkfood, Captech, and Founders Future, bringing its total funding to more than $59 million, according to company statements. The capital will be used to scale production capacity and complete a commercial entry into the American market. Whey protein isolate, long the dominant ingredient in high-protein foods and beverages, is facing acute supply constraints there, with contracts sold well into the year and prices continuing to rise.

Demand pressures are intensifying from multiple directions, analysts noted. Updated U.S. dietary guidelines recommending higher protein intakes, alongside the expanding use of GLP-1 medications, which are said to increase the body's need for dietary protein, have together accelerated interest in alternative sources. Verley's FermWhey product line uses precision fermentation to produce beta-lactoglobulin, a specific dairy protein, by programming microorganisms to secrete it directly, without reliance on animal agriculture. The result, the company said, is a bioidentical dairy protein that performs at higher inclusion rates than conventional whey. Where standard whey protein isolate is said to degrade texture in yogurt above a nine percent inclusion level, FermWhey is reported to maintain performance at 15 to 16 percent, expanding formulation options for manufacturers.

The company has received a no-questions letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration confirming the safety of its ingredients and is finalizing technology transfer with co-manufacturers to expand from its current 50,000-liter production capacity to more than 150,000 liters. Regulatory filings for the European Union and the Middle East are also in preparation. "We are past the time of exuberance for foodtech investing," co-founder and chief executive Stephane Mac Millan said in a statement. "Investors can see that the potential for offtake is enormous."

Whether precision fermentation can reliably fill the gap left by conventional dairy supply chains remains an open question for food manufacturers and regulators alike. Yet with FDA clearance secured and production scale-up underway, Verley's commercial timeline may offer an early measure of how quickly the technology can move from the laboratory into mainstream food production.