Paris-based Standing Ovation has secured €30 million ($34.2 million) in a Series B round, combining $28.5 million in equity with an additional $5.7 million in non-dilutive financing. The round was led by the Ecotechnologies 2 fund, managed by Bpifrance under the France 2030 initiative, alongside Crédit Mutuel Innovation.
Existing investors, including Astanor, Bel Group, Seventure Partners, GoodStartUp, and Big Idea Ventures, doubled down, while Danone Ventures joined Bel Group as a new shareholder. Additional backing came from Angelor, Newtree, and Noshaq.
The capital will fund the first commercial rollout of Standing Ovation’s flagship product in the US, followed by Europe and Asia from late 2027, supported by expanded manufacturing capacity.
Turning overlooked by-products into high-value proteins
Founded in 2020 by Romain Chayot and led by CEO Yvan Chardonnens, tanding Ovation is building an industrial‑scale fermentation platform that transforms whey permeates, traditionally treated as low‑value waste, into casein, one of the most valuable proteins in dairy.
Casein is critical for cheese, yoghurt, and many protein‑fortified foods, but conventional production is tightly bound to livestock. Standing Ovation replaces part of that chain with a fermentation‑based process that delivers the same functional and nutritional properties, using whey by‑products and agricultural sugars as feedstocks.
The company’s flagship ingredient, Advanced Casein, is positioned as a “drop‑in” dairy‑like protein that food manufacturers can use without having to reformulate recipes. Standing Ovation says this is one of the first attempts to produce casein at scale via fermentation, positioning it at the intersection of precision fermentation, circular economy, and dairy‑industry restructuring.
At the core of Standing Ovation’s model is a patented system protected by eight patent families. The process upcycles dairy side‑streams and plant‑based sugars into premium proteins, turning waste into value while reducing reliance on raw milk and animal farming.
The company estimates that global protein demand will grow by around 250 million metric tons by 2050, even as traditional dairy faces pressure from climate limits, water scarcity, and land‑use constraints. Standing Ovation argues that its approach can decouple protein supply from those bottlenecks.
Based on internal lifecycle assessments, the company claims its method reduces greenhouse gas emissions by around 74% and uses up to three times less water than conventional animal‑derived casein. It also frames its technology as a tool for protein sovereignty, helping countries such as France reduce dependence on global dairy supply chains and maintain domestic food security amid potential milk‑shortage risks.
Competition in precision fermentation
Standing Ovation is entering the second wave of precision fermentation, in which players are moving beyond niche alt‑protein ingredients to core dairy components. In Europe, Germany’s Formo and the UK’s Better Dairy are already commercialising fermentation‑based cheeses and dairy alternatives.
Other emerging competitors include Vivici in the Netherlands and Bon Vivant in France, as well as Finland’s Onego Bio, which works with egg proteins using similar techniques. Beyond Europe, global players like Remilk are scaling up production of animal‑free milk proteins through fermentation, underscoring the intensity of competition.
What marks Standing Ovation as distinct is its focus on upcycling dairy‑industry waste streams, rather than relying purely on sugars or synthetic inputs. By turning whey permeates into casein, the company positions itself between traditional dairy processors, alternative‑protein startups, and circular‑economy industrial biotech—the kind of hybrid positioning that large food‑corporation investors (like Bel Group and Danone Ventures) are increasingly seeking.
A collaborative model reshaping the dairy ecosystem
Rather than building its own production facilities, Standing Ovation is partnering with established fermentation manufacturers to scale efficiently. This asset‑light approach allows faster market entry while leveraging existing industrial expertise.
For the wider dairy sector, the implications are twofold. First, dairy processors gain an additional revenue stream by selling their whey by‑products as high‑value feedstocks. Second, food companies gain access to a more predictable, climate‑resilient casein supply that can complement or substitute traditional dairy‑derived sources as regulations, consumer preferences, and resource constraints tighten.
