A $2 daily-use meal as the first
product in a broader protein systems platform.
Fermentation
first. Insects and engineered proteins next.
SOFI 2025 still puts global undernourishment at roughly 673 million people, with more than 2.6 billion unable to afford a healthy diet.1 Baselayer is aimed at the larger affordability problem: routine, nutritionally credible meals that can be used daily rather than emergency rations.
Most meal-replacement brands still serve convenience-led affluent consumers, while much of the protein system remains tied to livestock-heavy supply chains. The timing change is fermentation: there are now 165 fermentation-focused alternative-protein companies building around a more scalable input base.2
Mycoprotein is the first commercial wedge because the fermentation infrastructure already exists, the ingredient can support a daily-use nutrition product, and the path from pilot to consumer product is relatively near-term. But Baselayer is not organized around loyalty to a single input. Insect-derived proteins, precision-fermented ingredients, and other engineered alternatives can be incorporated where they improve protein quality, micronutrient density, cost, or supply resilience. The thesis is therefore platform-based: begin with the protein system that is commercially ready now, then widen the stack as validation and regulation permit.2, 3, 7, 8
The research case is not just environmental. Published work describes mycoprotein as a nutrient-dense fungal protein with high protein quality, and recent human studies link intake to favorable lipid, glycemic, and diet-quality signals.3, 4, 5, 9, 10
The launch product is a mycoprotein-first, shelf-stable meal designed for daily use rather than supplementation. The visible nutrition and price numbers in this deck are design targets; the research claim is that the ingredient class is already plausible for daily-use nutrition.3, 4, 5
Published work already positions mycoprotein as a nutrient-dense fungal protein with high protein quality and human dietary data behind it.3, 4, 5, 9, 10
40g protein, 500 kcal, roughly $2 price, and 12-month shelf life are formulation goals for a daily-use meal, not launched-SKU claims.
Insect and engineered inputs stay optional until they improve cost, nutrition, or supply resilience in a defined channel.2, 7, 8
Published work positions mycoprotein as nutrient-dense fungal biomass with high protein quality, useful fiber, and materially lower land-use pressure than beef when microbial protein displaces ruminant meat at scale.3, 4, 6
The first objective is a validated mycoprotein-led base formulation. In parallel, the team can screen second-generation protein inputs for later products, but only after the core meal meets nutritional, sensory, and cost targets.
Initial manufacturing centers on fermentation partners rather than greenfield infrastructure. Insect-derived and engineered inputs are introduced later, and only where they clear cost, digestibility, and regulatory thresholds for a specific product or channel.
The first launch is deliberately narrow: prove repeat use, procurement trust, and unit economics with one product. Broader protein formats and ingredient-system offerings follow only after that base layer is credible.
The immediate need is not abstract TAM. It is a 2.6 billion-person affordability problem in a market where many nutrition products still optimize for convenience-led consumers rather than routine low-cost use.1
The readiness signal is newer. GFI's 2024 sector review counted 165 fermentation-focused companies and $4.8B in disclosed investment, while regulatory movement in Canada and Europe suggests the category is becoming easier to industrialize responsibly.2, 7, 8
Baselayer's wedge is a shelf-stable, mycoprotein-first meal that can be tested in direct and institutional pilots before the broader protein stack expands.
The company is designed to prove repeat purchase and institutional trust in a small number of channels before broad distribution or platform expansion.
A small direct-to-consumer beta is the first test bed for taste, repeat purchase, and price elasticity. It is a learning channel before it is a scale channel.
Signal-richSelective pilots with NGOs, schools, or relief-oriented buyers test procurement fit, format, and nutritional trust under real operating constraints.
Trust-buildingRetail becomes relevant only after formulation, manufacturing, and repeat-use data support a broader consumer push.
Second phaseOnce the protein stack broadens, Baselayer can license formulations or sell specialized blends built from fermentation, insect-derived, or engineered inputs to regional manufacturers.
Platform layerBaselayer remains pre-launch. Current work is focused on formulation, validation design, manufacturing diligence, and early screening of adjacent neo-protein inputs. The raise funds the next 18 months of disciplined pilot execution rather than broad commercial rollout.
Milestones at raise completion: finalized base formulation, third-party nutrient validation underway or complete, manufacturing partner agreement signed, a live DTC beta, at least one institutional pilot in motion, and clear go / no-go criteria for second-generation protein inputs. Series A timing depends on validation quality and repeat-use signal rather than a fixed calendar.
FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, WHO. State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2025. Used for 673 million people facing hunger in 2024 and 2.6 billion unable to afford a healthy diet.
Good Food Institute. 2024 State of the Industry: Fermentation. Used for 165 fermentation-focused alternative-protein companies, $4.8B all-time disclosed investment, and industrialization signals.
"Food for our future: the nutritional science behind the sustainable fungal protein - mycoprotein. A symposium review." Journal of Nutritional Science (2019). Used for nutrient density, amino-acid coverage, and ingredient-level context.
Derbyshire, E. "Fungal-Derived Mycoprotein and Health across the Lifespan: A Narrative Review." Journal of Fungi (2022). Used for protein-quality framing, all-essential-amino-acid coverage, and health-across-lifespan synthesis.
Gibbs, J. & Leung, G.-K. "The effect of mycoprotein intake on biomarkers of human health: a systematic review and meta-analysis." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2023). Used for lipid, glycemic, and satiety-related biomarker synthesis rather than product-efficacy claims.
Humpenoder, F. et al. "Projected environmental benefits of replacing beef with microbial protein." Nature 605, 90-96 (2022). Used for the claim that microbial protein can materially reduce land-use pressure and deforestation relative to beef-heavy systems.
Health Canada. "Novel Food Information: beta-Lactoglobulin protein from yeast strain Komagataella phaffii yRMK-66." Approved-products page updated in 2024. Used as an ingredient-specific regulatory milestone for precision-fermented food proteins.
EFSA NDA Panel scientific opinion on Rhizomucor pusillus biomass powder as a novel food (2025). Used to show active European review of fungal biomass ingredients beyond legacy mycoprotein.
"The association of mycoprotein-based food consumption with diet quality, energy intake and non-communicable diseases' risk in the UK adult population." British Journal of Nutrition (2022). Used for the argument that mycoprotein can fit a daily-use nutrition pattern, not just a niche substitute product.
"The addition of mycoprotein to a mixed meal impacts postprandial glucose kinetics without altering blood glucose concentrations: a randomized controlled trial." European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2024). Used for the postprandial glucose discussion, not to imply completed product validation for Baselayer.
Baselayer begins with a low-cost meal, but the broader project is a protein systems platform: fermentation first, with insect-derived and engineered alternatives added where they improve affordability, resilience, and nutritional quality.