Pacifico Biolabs Raises $7.6M for Brewery-Based Protein

Jan de Vries · 2026-05-27

Pacifico Biolabs, a Berlin-based startup using mycelium fermentation to grow meat, just closed a $7.6 million Series A funding round (converted from €7 million). They plan to scale production to 220 tons per month and launch across DACH and Nordic Europe, with their main operations in Saxony, Germany. ### What This Funding Means This round was backed by Stray Dog Capital, TGFS, Sprout & About Ventures, Simon Capital, FoodLabs, and a local brewery partner. Andres Manzanares from Stray Dog Capital said, "After a decade backing alternative protein companies, we see Pacifico as a clear leader in overcoming the bottlenecks that have held back the category." He added that by using existing infrastructure, Pacifico offers a credible solution to a broken protein supply chain. ### The Problem They're Solving Alternative proteins have always struggled on three fronts: cost, texture, and nutrition. Most products nail one or two, but rarely all three. Pacifico claims their fermented mycelium addresses everything. It has a natural meat-like structure and neutral flavor, which means food manufacturers can use it as a practical ingredient without piling on additives. That makes it a solid foundation for private label products. ### Why Breweries? Here's the clever part. Instead of building expensive new factories, Pacifico runs their fermentation process directly in standard beer brewery tanks. This removes the need for purpose-built bioreactors and saves millions in capital expenditure. As beer and alcohol consumption drop across Europe, many breweries have idle fermentation tanks. Pacifico sees this as a golden opportunity—no lengthy construction, just a quick, cost-effective way to scale up for mass markets. - **Cost parity from day one:** They target cost parity with traditional meat right out of the gate. - **Asset-light model:** No need for new facilities; they use what's already there. - **Fast scaling:** Idle tanks mean they can ramp up production immediately. ### The Vision Zac Austin, co-founder and CEO, put it this way: "We aren't just building a food ingredient company, we're putting European industrial infrastructure to work for the future of food. German brewing heritage meets modern industrial biotechnology. We're using the hardware of the past to power the nutrition of the future." Pacifico also emphasizes their role in European protein sovereignty. By producing high-quality protein locally, close to where it's consumed, they reduce reliance on imports and support regional industrial capacity. Sören Schuster from TGFS noted, "Pacifico solves the industry's scaling problem with an elegant, asset-light model. The combination of European sovereignty and high capital efficiency makes them a key player in the emerging bio-economy." ### What's Next With this fresh funding, Pacifico plans to grow their Leipzig team and speed up initial commercial partnerships. They expect products to hit retail shelves through brand and retailer partners by late 2026. It's a smart play—turning idle industrial space into a solution for a broken protein system.