About Paleo
A European B2B food technology company with
a portfolio of heme proteins
Our idea is simple; our convictions are strong. We want to make meat and fish, but not kill animals to do it. So, we had to crack the code of meat. In our search for what exactly makes fish and meat look, taste and smell like meat, we zeroed down on heme proteins. It is our contribution to putting alternative proteins on the menu.
Paleo's animal-free heme platform is the most advanced on the market today and will be available for food manufacturers shortly.
Craving the taste of meat and fish
More and more people become ‘flexitarian’ and try to decrease their animal-based consumption. However, to make a strong shift towards plant-based diets, we need products that provide a similar sensory experience to eating meat or fish.
To achieve this goal, one needs to know what exactly defines this look, taste and smell.
Research shows that heme proteins – present in real fish and meat – are in large part responsible for this appeal. Moreover, heme proteins contain heme iron, a form of iron that is easily absorbed by the human body. A diet with little or no meat or fish can be very healthy, but iron intake might be a concern. Paleo developed a novel technique to produce these heme proteins using precision fermentation.
A portfolio of proteins… and more
It was mainly due to the astonishing aromatic and nutritional results of our ingredients, that we realized what we had achieved was a big deal. It is the real deal.
We initially focused on four ‘traditional’ species for meat production: beef, chicken, pork and lamb. We added tuna to our portfolio, since replacing seafood is as challenging as meat substitution.
Then we decided to challenge ourselves: if we at Paleo were able to truly crack the code of meat, could we make proteins of animals that no longer live on this planet? Based on analysis of the oldest DNA ever found (more than one million years ago), we were able to reproduce the heme protein of mammoth. We soon learned that this mammoth protein has interesting properties, and delivers strong aromas of grilled meat.
Our story does not stop here: we started with heme proteins, but we continue unravelling what makes meat ‘meat’ and what makes seafood ‘seafood.’
Animal-free and GMO-free ingredients
What started with a handful of Belgian scientists in a kitchen-like lab, became groundbreaking innovation and ambitions beyond borders. We not only wanted our ingredients to be animal-free, they also needed to be free of genetically modified organisms (non-GMO).
We use yeasts only as a processing aid to produce our heme proteins, and then cleanly separate them from the final product. Paleo is the first to develop a heme fermentation process where the yeast cells release the heme into the environment. The resulting heme is a highly pure product that is GMO-free.
This makes us truly unique: animal-free and GMO-free.
We are a team of innovators, scientists, food lovers, animal activists, planet huggers and entrepreneurs
Leadership
Hermes Sanctorum, PhD
Chief Executive Officer
"As a former politician, I am proud that I made an impact on animal suffering and the environment.However, politics cannot change everything, and real action is needed. The only way to reduce the impact of meat production and fishing, is to offer consumers a tasty and healthy alternative for meat and fish. That is what Paleo is all about."
Andy de Jong, MD
Chief Operating Officer
"Improved food safety and better health: Paleo aims high. Avoiding antibiotics, pesticides, growth hormones and toxins, we’ve got that covered. Our process of producing food ingredients is faster, cleaner and more efficient than raising animals. Done right, using renewable energy, it cuts the environmental burden by using fewer resources."
Elsa Lauwers, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
"At Paleo we leverage the most recent scientific advances to reverse-engineer what gives meat and fish their taste, texture and nutritional value. We use deep insights into protein stability and lipid metabolism to precisely produce these ingredients in a clean and efficient way. As a molecular biologist, I am proud to contribute to developing safe, sustainable food that meets the needs of future generations."
Paleo network & partners
