In this instalment of 'Start-up spotlight' – which celebrates smaller and earlier-stage companies and their innovations – we speak to Udi Lazimy, founder of Fudi Protein: a US-based food-tech developing functional protein ingredients from alfalfa as an alternative to dairy and egg white. Read on to find out more about the company's mission to bring a solution that matches animal protein in functionality and cost to the alt-protein space.

Can you tell us about the story behind Fudi's establishment and long-term mission?

Fudi came out of a frustration I carried through years of working in alternative protein supply chains. As director of sourcing and sustainability at Eat Just, and later working with companies like Beyond Meat on traceability, I kept running into the same wall. The category needed protein ingredients that performed like animal protein, but the options were either functionally limited, expensive or built on supply chains nobody could see into.

RuBisCO kept coming up as the answer that nobody had cracked at scale. It is the most abundant protein on Earth, it sits inside every green leaf, and it has the functional and nutritional profile food manufacturers actually want. The problem was always getting it out cleanly and affordably.

Fudi exists to solve that. Our long-term mission is to make a complete, functional plant protein available to food manufacturers at a price and quality that lets them build better products, while keeping the value of that protein anchored with the farmers who grow the crop.

Why did you choose to focus on RuBisCO from alfalfa?

RuBisCO is a complete protein with a PDCAAS that can reach 1.0, which puts it on par with egg and dairy. It is white, neutral in taste, highly soluble, and functionally comparable to egg white. For a food manufacturer, that combination is rare.

Alfalfa is the right source for it. It is one of the most widely grown forage crops in the United States, it fixes its own nitrogen and it is already part of established rotations. We are not asking farmers to plant something new or convert land. We work with a crop they already grow, and we return the byproduct to them as a premium feed. The protein we take is a fraction that was never being captured for human food in the first place.

What are the key challenges that you aim to address in the protein industry with your ingredient solution?

Three things. First, functionality. A lot of plant proteins force formulators to compromise on texture, colour or solubility. RuBisCO does not carry those penalties, which is why egg white replacement is our first target application.

Second, cost. Other RuBisCO efforts have struggled to reach a competitive price. Our approach is built around keeping cost of goods low, in part through how and where we process.

Third, supply chain integrity. Manufacturers increasingly need to know where an ingredient came from. By integrating directly with US farmers, we can offer a protein with a transparent, domestic origin rather than something assembled across an opaque global chain.

Are regenerative farming principles central to Fudi's approach?

Soil health and working with existing agriculture are central to how we operate, yes. Alfalfa is a perennial, nitrogen-fixing crop that builds soil and supports rotation, so the foundation is already aligned with regenerative thinking.

The bigger principle for us is that we complement existing farming rather than replace it. We do not require new land or new crops. We add a revenue stream to a crop farmers already grow, return the byproduct as feed, and process close to where the alfalfa is harvested. The goal is to strengthen the system that is already there, not build something parallel to it.

How does Fudi differentiate itself from other start-ups working with RuBisCO protein?

A few ways. We integrate directly with US farmers, primarily in Wisconsin, rather than sourcing through intermediaries. We process near the field, which protects freshness and reduces logistics cost. We return the byproduct to farmers as a premium feed, so the relationship is genuinely mutual.

Our extraction is aqueous, meaning water-based, with no harsh solvents. And our model is built to keep cost of goods low relative to other RuBisCO companies, which matters because the entire category lives or dies on whether the ingredient can compete on price.

You recently secured investment from Green Boy Group. How do you expect this collaboration to support Fudi in the scale-up of its solutions?

Green Boy is a strong fit because they understand functional ingredients and the manufacturers who buy them. Beyond the capital, that knowledge of the ingredient market and the customer relationships that come with it are what help a company like ours move from validated process to commercial supply. Their backing also signals to the rest of the market that the underlying technology and business model are sound, which matters as we line up our next stage of partners.

Are there any specific food and beverage categories you're targeting with your solutions?

Our first target is egg white replacement, because that is where RuBisCO's functional profile maps most directly. Think bakery, confectionery, and other applications where you need binding, foaming, or structure without the cost and supply volatility of egg.

From there, the complete amino acid profile and high solubility open up broader protein fortification, including beverages and nutrition products. We are starting where the fit is clearest and expanding from there.

What has been the biggest challenge on Fudi's journey so far and how did you navigate this?

The hardest part has been proving the process works the way we said it would, at the quality we promised, while building the farmer relationships in parallel. Neither one happens fast.

We navigated it by being disciplined about sequencing: validate the extraction at lab scale and produce real samples before making bigger commitments, and build trust with farmers like Doug by showing up consistently rather than overpromising. The two efforts reinforce each other, but only if you respect that both take time.

What has been the company's biggest achievement to date?

Validating our extraction process at lab scale and producing our first real protein samples. Everything before that was a thesis. Once we had material in hand that matched what we believed RuBisCO could do, the conversations with investors and potential customers changed completely. Completing the ProVeg Incubator and bringing on investors has followed from that proof.

How have you observed the alt-protein category evolving in recent years, and where do you expect it to be in 5-10 years time?

The early wave was driven by enthusiasm and a lot of capital, and not all of it was disciplined. The category has since matured. Manufacturers and investors now ask harder questions about cost, function, and supply, which is healthy. The bar is higher.

Over the next five to ten years I expect the winners to be the ingredients that compete on their own merits, on price and performance, rather than on novelty. Protein that genuinely matches animal protein in function and cost, with a supply chain manufacturers trust, is where the category is heading. That is exactly the gap we are building into.

What's next for Fudi?

Raising capital and scaling up. We are moving toward kilo-scale pilot production and putting samples in the hands of food manufacturers for evaluation. Alongside that, we are advancing our IP and regulatory work and continuing to raise the capital to support it. The near-term goal is simple: get real product to real customers at a scale they can build with.

In order to get there, we're excited to be raising capital both via institutional investors as well as through our community round on WeFunder. We're inviting anyone reading this to learn about what we're building and reach out with any questions. And of course, anyone (not only professional investors) can invest in Fudi directly on our WeFunder page.

If you could offer one piece of advice to aspiring start-ups in the food and beverage industry to help them navigate the sector's challenges and opportunities, what would it be?

Let the facts do the work. This industry has heard every superlative, so claims do not move people, evidence does. Build something that actually performs, prove it, and be honest about what you have and have not solved yet. Customers, farmers and serious investors all respond to the same thing, which is substance.