Schlieren, Switzerland
Fabas is a female-founded Swiss food-tech startup helping dairy producers develop high-quality hybrid and plant-based products using regionally sourced legumes.
Founded in 2021, Fabas acts as an ingredient partner for the food industry, developing liquid protein extracts designed to replace cow’s milk in plant-based and hybrid dairy applications.
Within this Living Lab, the focus is on strengthening local value chains in Switzerland. Fabas works with Swiss-grown fava beans and other regional ingredients to demonstrate how plant-based dairy alternatives can be produced closer to where they are consumed.
This approach addresses a key challenge in the plant-based sector. Many alternatives still rely on imported protein isolates, starches, and tropical fats, while locally grown crops remain underused. By developing functional ingredients from legumes and other regionally available raw materials, Fabas enables manufacturers to create products that are locally sourced, nutritionally valuable, and compatible with existing production processes.
Scaling this model, however, presents several challenges. Local ingredient sourcing requires reliable volumes, consistent quality, and strong processing partnerships. Smaller processors also face commercial barriers when trying to secure predictable demand through retail channels. In addition, plant proteins behave differently from dairy proteins, particularly in cheese production, where curdling, pressing, and ripening remain difficult to replicate.
To transform these challenges into a transferable model for the wider European food sector, the Living Lab is developing two complementary innovation tracks: the “White Line” for liquid and semi-solid dairy applications, and the “Yellow Line” for plant-based cheese alternatives.
The Yellow Line explores how fava bean-based ingredients can be adapted to traditional cheese-making processes such as curdling, pressing, and ripening. By improving protein content, texture, flavour, and functionality, the initiative aims to create locally sourced plant-based cheese alternatives that can compete more effectively with existing vegan products.
Fabas’ White Line offers flexible plant-based ingredient solutions for creamy applications such as yogurt, fresh cheese and ice cream. By combining protein extracts, ready-to-use premixes and regional sourcing, the initiative helps dairy processors enter the plant-based market with scalable, locally adapted solutions.
