Scooping up an Animal-free Future

Dairy-free ice cream seems paradoxical, but Perfect Day, a California-based company, makes Coolhaus without cows.

- KENNETH SZ GOH

With chunks of dark chocolate and peanut butter swirls, Coolhaus ice cream looks every bit the indulgent treat — except it doesn’t contain cow’s milk. Instead, the American ice cream is made from animal-free dairy developed by scientists.

Launched in Singapore in July, Coolhaus is produced by Perfect Day, a California-based consumer biology company that makes animal-free dairy and products such as cream cheese, milk and ice cream. In 2020, Perfect Day produced the world’s first animalfree whey protein through precision fermentation. In this process, genetically engineered microorganisms are used to produce specific products, including whey protein, rennet in cheese and enzymes and flavouring agents in food products.

A digital copy of whey protein’s genetic sequence, similar to those in cows, is mixed with microflora, sugars, vitamins, and minerals in a fermentation tank. After the mixture is metabolised, whey protein is produced and then filtered and dried into pure protein powder that can be made into various food products. Molecularly identical to cow protein, whey protein has the same nutritional value, and its products yield a rich, creamy mouthfeel.