A Slice of Innovation: New Culture’s Animal-Free Mozzarella Is Sparking a Pizza Revolution
Dairy-free mozzarella is winning over top chefs and stretching the limits of what cheese can be.
12 May 2025
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Photo Credit: New Culture
When Nancy Silverton, the James Beard Award–winning chef and founder of Pizzeria Mozza, put New Culture’s dairy-free mozzarella on her menu, the culinary world sat up and took note. Known for her exacting palate and deep respect for Italian tradition, Silverton’s decision to debut an animal-free mozzarella signals more than a passing trend, it’s a potential turning point for the future of pizza.
At the forefront of this shift is New Culture, a food-tech company reimagining how dairy is made. Using precision fermentation, the California-based company has created a mozzarella that stretches, melts, and browns like its conventional counterpart, but without involving a single cow.
Early reactions from chefs have been enthusiastic. In March, New Culture secured more than $5 million in early demand from pizzerias and restaurant operators across the United States, a sign of growing hunger not just for better plant-based options, but for dairy with fewer compromises.
“This first $5 million in demand is just the beginning as we scale up to bring delicious, animal-free cheese to pizza lovers everywhere,” says co-founder and CEO Matt Gibson.
Photo Credit: New Culture
Cheese That Performs Like It Should
While more than 25,000 US-based pizzerias offer plant-based cheese, these alternatives still account for less than 0.5% of total cheese sales, largely due to performance issues.
“We hear from chefs and consumers constantly about how plant-based cheeses don’t meet their expectations,” says Benjamin Freedman, VP of Commercial at New Culture. “They’re gloopy, pasty, sticky, and have odd flavour profiles.”
New Culture’s animal-free mozzarella sets out to rework that negative stereotype. Created using precision fermentation, it contains an animal-free version of casein – the essential protein responsible for cheese’s stretch and melt. The result is a mozzarella that mirrors the texture, flavour, and performance of its traditional counterpart, but without lactose, cholesterol, soy, gluten, or nuts.
Chefs have also praised its versatility. “They love that New Culture cheese just works,” Benjamin adds. “Whether used as shreds, chunks, or slices, it performs consistently in wood-fired, gas, and electric ovens at temperatures from 500° to 900°.”
Photo Credit: New Culture
From Indie Pizzerias to Michelin Mentions
The company’s early traction extends well beyond celebrity endorsements. Interest in New Culture spans the entire pizza world – from independent shops to national chains – and demand is coming from World Pizza Champions, Pizza Industry Excellence (PIE) award winners, and restaurants recognised by the Michelin Guide and 50Top Pizza.
Silverton’s Pizzeria Mozza will be the first to serve the cheese. A collaboration that took shape over multiple visits and working sessions between Silverton and the New Culture team, they’ll launch two custom-crafted pizzas: a classic Margherita and a Caponata-inspired pie with eggplant, confit tomatoes, pickled onions, and caperberries.
“I’ve always believed that just because it’s a substitute doesn’t mean it needs to be anything less than spectacular,” Silverton told BakeMag. “When I tried New Culture cheese, I was surprised and excited by the integrity of the product and really felt it lived up to our standards.”
Additional restaurant partners will be announced following the Los Angeles launch, which is currently awaiting final regulatory approval from the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
Team New Culture | Photo Credit: New Culture
Why Mozzarella? Why Now?
Mozzarella isn’t just a logical entry point; it’s a strategic one. Cheese is the most consumed dairy product in the United States, generating over $38 billion in annual sales. Mozzarella alone accounts for nearly $9 billion of that, largely thanks to its dominance in pizza.
“American consumers love pizza. So, to have the most impact, we’re focused on selling mozzarella to pizzerias before eventually expanding into other products or retail channels,” says Benjamin.
Redefining Dairy’s Future
New Culture’s ambitions grow beyond pizza. Its precision fermentation process reduces greenhouse gas emissions by more than 85% and slashes land and water use by over 95%. With no animal inputs, their cheese is also free from lactose, cholesterol, hormones, and antibiotics.
Chef Nancy Silverton’s decision to debut an animal-free mozzarella signals a bold step toward the future of pizza | Photo Credit: New Culture
“Humans have made dairy the same way for thousands of years – starting from animal milk,” says Benjamin. “Yet with rising global demand, traditional dairy production is increasingly unsustainable. At New Culture, we’re proud to be at the forefront of a fundamentally new, animal-free chapter, bringing consumers the same products they know and love, with a radically lighter impact on the environment, human health, and the global food system.”
While New Culture remains laser-focused on pizzerias for now, it sees wider applications on the horizon. As Matt told the Vegconomist, “With our science, any cheese is possible – and can be made completely animal-free.”
If the early appetite for its mozzarella is any indication, New Culture may not just change how cheese is made but redefine what it means to be dairy in the first place.
Photo credit: New Culture
Author: Charlene Fang
Charlene Fang is a US-based writer, editor and content strategist. Originally from Singapore, she writes for lifestyle and travel publications such as Condé Nast Traveller, AFAR, Forbes Travel Guide and Louis Vuitton Guides and was previously an editor at CNNGO and Time Out.
