Brown Foods, a Y Combinator-backed startup based in Boston, is the first company in the world to showcase lab-made, whole cow milk, according to the company.

Dubbed UnReal Milk, this cow-free dairy product is designed to match the taste, texture, and nutrition of conventional cow milk — while also being transformable into butter, cheese, ice cream, and more — all without the need for cows.

It uses a biotech-driven approach called mammalian cell culture to produce real milk. Unlike plant-based alternatives like oat or soy milk, UnReal Milk contains all essential proteins, fats, and carbohydrates that make up 99% of traditional cow milk, delivering the same taste, texture, and functionality as conventional dairy, stated Brown Foods.

“Brown Foods has achieved a significant scientific and technological breakthrough by producing the world's first test tube of lab-grown milk,” said Dr. Richard Braatz, Edwin R. Gilliland Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT, biopharmaceutical manufacturing expert, and member of Brown Foods’ Scientific Advisory Board. “Unlike precision fermentation, the key strength of Brown Foods' technology approach is that it uses mammalian cell culture which enables them to produce all components of milk together as whole milk and their technology can be scaled up further using bioreactor systems to produce mass volumes of milk for the human consumption. What makes this breakthrough remarkable is its scalability. This technology can be scaled to meet global demand while delivering a solution that is sustainable and resource efficient.”