Food, Global Health 2 min
3 questions for a start-up: Les Nouveaux Affineurs
Born of a meeting between know-how in French cheese-making and science and innovation, the start-up Les Nouveaux Affineurs aims to replace dairy-based cheeses with matured plant-based cheeses. Nour Akbaraly tells the story of this start-up, born in 2017.
Published on 13 November 2018
What gave you the idea to create Les Nouveaux Affineurs?
What gave you the idea to create Les Nouveaux Affineurs?
After graduating as an engineer from Centrale Lille and spending five years as a consultant, I wanted to initiate a project that combined gastronomy, plant products and innovation. Aware of the environmental, ethical and health challenges linked to the over-consumption of animal products, my aim was to find a plant-based alternative to cheese, but of course one that would comply with the demands of French gastronomy! Our plant-based matured cheeses are made from cashew nuts and soybean. If you want to compare them with the cheeses we know well, they resemble a soft cheese, but we do not want to copy an existing product; rather, our aim is to broaden the range of products on offer and introduce new flavours. Indeed, we work with organic and French raw materials whenever possible.
What is your connection with INRA?
What is your connection with INRA?
I trained as an engineer, and it was important for me to be able to work closely with research laboratories so that I could continue to learn. That is why our project was incubated by the AgroParisTech’s Food’Inn Lab when we started in early 2017. INRA was a great support, notably because we were able to discuss our ideas with research teams working on food processes and microbiology. To improve our products and experiment with them, we are also developing a partnership with the Joint Research Unit on Cheese (UMRF) in Aurillac, with support from the Qualiment Carnot Institute. We are therefore in constant contact with INRA’s research teams, and our collaboration has been designed for the long term. We were also present in the FoodTech space at SIAL, with the support of INRA.
So how do you envisage the future for your start-up?
So how do you envisage the future for your start-up?
We want to use new ingredients and new technologies so that we can develop and innovate in this sector. The plant-based cheese sector is indeed in its infancy; it has only existed for about ten years, so it is very young compared with the cheese industry as a whole! Because of our successful fundraising round at the end of last year, we are now able to launch our pilot production unit during the first quarter of 2019. The goal is to improve our product and its flavour, using locally-sourced raw materials so that we can continue to reduce our carbon footprint. Our challenge is to come at the challenge from a different angle, while making sure we retain the ripening stage, which is an age-old technique.
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The Food'in Lab
A true forum for exchanges and encounters, Food’Inn Lab is an incubator that can offer FoodTech start-ups its tailor-made support for a minimum of six months. This support is provided by teacher-researchers from AgroParisTech or INRA, and targets research and development issues (R&D).