On Tuesday in Tallinn, 120 people ate the future, and they didn’t know it would taste this normal. During the opening day of Latitude59, Estonian startup ÄIO and Finnish company enifer had invited a curated audience to taste-test their lab-grown, sustainable alternatives to some of the world’s most controversial ingredients. The diners—food executives, scientists, and government officials—were sampling fats and oils made by microbes instead of palm trees or cows.
Founded in 2022 as a spin-off from Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), ÄIO has recently made a successful fundraise and is on a big mission. Their idea: instead of cutting down rainforests for palm oil or raising cattle for animal fat, we can feed sugar to specially engineered microbes. The tiny organisms ferment it into oils and fats that can replace traditional ingredients in everything from chocolate to cosmetics.
“We showed that Estonia can create food technology products that are tasty, healthy, and better for the environment,” said Petri-Jaan Lahtvee, ÄIO’s co-founder and a TalTech professor.
Still, there’s a catch. These foods are so new that regulators don’t quite know what to do with them. This was only the fourth such tasting event worldwide. “One of the main hurdles is navigating regulation,” explained Anna Handschuch from Future Affairs Consulting. “We need faster pathways, not looser safety standards, but smarter systems that encourage innovation.”
Why this matters
Palm oil production destroys about 10 million hectares of forest each year. Animal agriculture uses 77% of farmland while producing just 18% of our calories. Meanwhile, these Estonian-developed microbes can produce oils using food waste in facilities the size of breweries. So the maths is compelling. The taste test was the real question, and it did not disappoint, according to audience feedback.
“We need more initiatives where the science meets the spoon,” added Mika Kukkurainen from Nordic FoodTech VC and panel moderator. “Connecting innovators, regulators, and industry in one room is how we make real progress.”
To make those novel foods mainstream, ÄIO now is working through regulatory approvals while scaling up production. Their fermentation process can create different types of fats for both food and cosmetics—potentially replacing multiple environmentally problematic ingredients with one platform technology.
This is just one example of how Estonia is putting itself on the world map as a food tech hub. Read more and get in touch to talk about how you can be a part of the future of food.
