On 15 October 2026, Mycofeast acquired Auckland-based Daisy Lab, shifting its precision-fermentation work into an international ingredients business. Lactoferrin is among Daisy Lab’s main areas of focus. Irina Miller and Nikki Freed founded the company in 2020; Emily McIsaac joined as a third co-founder in 2021. The purchase price was not disclosed, so the financial return to Daisy Lab’s backers cannot be assessed from the available information. Miller said the deal would combine technology and expertise developed in New Zealand with Mycofeast’s international capabilities, as BusinessDesk reported.
Daisy Lab develops dairy-identical proteins through precision fermentation, using microorganisms to produce proteins without cows. Its work includes whey proteins such as lactoferrin, an ingredient used in food and nutraceutical products. The deal shifts the main challenge from developing the science to scaling production and preparing the ingredient for commercial use.
Mycofeast brings facilities and technical capabilities that would take a small company time and substantial funding to assemble. The British group is headquartered in Oxford and operates a synthetic biology hub in California. In Poland, it is converting a former Heineken brewery into a biotechnology production platform. Its subsidiary Evolutia Bio adds strain-engineering expertise, connecting microorganism development with the demands of industrial production.
Daisy Lab’s founders will take roles within the wider group. The acquisition is not associated with layoffs, according to the report. Over the next 12 months, the work is expected to include further scale-up. Regulatory filings and customer trials are also planned, alongside the transfer of the production process to Mycofeast’s manufacturing operation. The Auckland company’s move into the international group was also reported by the National Business Review.
The acquisition fits a broader pattern of cross-border biotech transactions, including Shionogi’s IntraBio deal. Daisy Lab’s case is centered on fermentation capability and ingredient production.
Lactoferrin is a high-value milk protein. Precision fermentation can produce dairy-identical proteins without cows, but the science alone will not put an ingredient on shelves. Production has to scale. Regulatory filings must progress, and customers need to test the product.
New Zealand’s financing gap has been documented before. BioTechNZ’s 2020 sector study identified access to capital as the leading constraint on research and commercialisation. The organisation raised the issue again in 2022. Daisy Lab’s sale puts that constraint in practical terms: the company’s technology now has access to an overseas buyer’s funding and facilities, as well as its customers.
Over the next 12 months, the stated steps include further scale-up. Regulatory filings and customer trials are also expected. Mycofeast’s manufacturing operation is due to take on the production process.
