365. Liberation Labs’ Mark Warner on precision fermentation for food + beverage, the Vivici partnership + biomanufacturing’s future

Global Market Insights predicts the precision fermentation market for food and beverage will grow from just about two billion in 2024 to 70 billion globally by 2034. That’s a staggering combined annual growth rate of nearly 40%. Liberation Labs is pioneering a new approach to precision fermentation at scale that borrows a page from the pharmaceutical industries playbook. Co-founder and CEO, Mark Warner, joins us to get into:  What exactly is precision fermentation? The challenge facing companies, particularly early-stage innovators, that Liberation Labs saw an opportunity to solve for with contract precision fermentation The company’s recent announcement of its first customer for the Indiana facility, Vivici, what they will do for them and what’s exciting about the partnership How Mark saw an opportunity in the pharmaceutical space that could be replicated in fermentation for agbioscience innovation Mark’s journey to fundraise for Liberation Labs Reflecting on the decision to put their facility in Indiana for access to talent, corn and transportation The biggest opportunities for growth – not just for Liberation Labs – but for precision fermentation as an industry Biomanufacturing’s importance to economic growth, but in urban and rural America What’s ahead for Liberation Labs