Unilever is set to explore “cow-free” dairy for use within its ice cream portfolio in the coming years.

A spokesperson for Unilever told FoodBev that the company’s R&D team has begun looking at precision fermentation technology and how this could be used to create dairy products that are not animal-based. 

The spokesperson commented: “We are in the early stages of working with start-ups in this space… At this point in time, we’re not in a position to be able to confirm which brands or markets this technology will be applied to.”

Discussing the company’s Climate Transition Action Plan in September, Roy Horne, head of climate action in Unilever’s ice cream business group, said: “We should talk about cows as they’re equally important…They produce milk and cream, which are great to use as raw materials in ice cream, but they come with a high carbon footprint attached… We are having a deep conversation in our brands now, about wher we need to use dairy ingredients and how we can improve the carbon footprint of those ingredients.”

Unilever’s representative said it hopes to share more on the company’s plans in the next couple of years.