ADM partnership gives The EVERY Company the commercial scale it has spent a decade building toward

Commercial-scale manufacturing has long been the missing piece of the precision fermentation puzzle. While the technology has advanced rapidly over the past decade, many companies have struggled to bridge the gap between producing kilograms in pilot facilities and manufacturing ingredients at the volumes, consistency and economics demanded by global food manufacturers.

• ADM and The EVERY Company partnered to begin commercial-scale production of EVERY's precision-fermented OvoPro egg white protein at ADM's Clinton, Iowa, facility, expanding US manufacturing capacity.
• The agreement combined EVERY's protein technology with ADM's precision fermentation infrastructure to meet growing demand for protein-fortified ingredients while strengthening • domestic supply chains.
• Speaking previously to Protein Production Technology International, CEO Arturo Elizondo said manufacturing partnerships had always been central to EVERY's strategy for achieving commercial scale.

For The EVERY Company, that challenge has always been central to its strategy. Now, the San Francisco-based precision fermentation specialist believes it has found the answer.

The company has announced a commercial manufacturing agreement with ADM that will see its OvoPro egg white protein produced at ADM's precision fermentation facility in Clinton, Iowa, significantly expanding production capacity for multinational food manufacturers while creating new opportunities for US agriculture.

The partnership pairs EVERY's proprietary precision fermentation technology with ADM's large-scale manufacturing infrastructure, enabling commercial production of OvoPro in the USA.

According to the companies, the agreement is designed to increase production to meet growing demand for protein-fortified foods across multiple categories while strengthening domestic supply chains and creating new market opportunities for regional farmers.

For Arturo Elizondo, founder and CEO of The EVERY Company, the announcement represents far more than another manufacturing agreement. Speaking to Protein Production Technology International in recent weeks, Elizondo explained that manufacturing partnerships rather than company-owned facilities had always been the end goal.

"For us, my view was always: why reinvent the wheel when there is already capacity out there?" he said. "We just need to strike the right deal on the right terms. I was convinced there were companies we could bring along with us and create agreements that would give us both the scale and the economics we needed."

That philosophy stands in contrast to a number of early precision fermentation businesses that pursued vertically integrated manufacturing strategies, requiring substantial capital investment before reaching commercial volumes.

Elizondo acknowledged that manufacturing has consistently been the industry's biggest hurdle. "By far, that's the most challenging puzzle piece," he told PPTI. "It's the one that has taken companies the longest to solve. The manufacturing capacity required is enormous.

"If you're building a greenfield facility, you're talking about three years and hundreds of millions of dollars. A lot of companies have struggled or failed on that journey because their business models depended on being vertically integrated and owning production themselves."

The ADM agreement removes much of that barrier.

Kris Lutt, ADM's Vice President for Innovation and Growth, said the collaboration demonstrates how precision fermentation can complement conventional agricultural production rather than replace it. "Traditional protein sources like eggs will always be a critically important part of diets around the world, but it's also clear that the only way to meet the growing global demand for protein is to add innovative new ingredient options that can expand the supply of high-quality protein," Lutt said.

"Through this agreement with EVERY, we're strengthening the global protein supply chain while demonstrating how ADM's industry-leading precision fermentation capabilities can complement existing production, expand supply and help customers innovate. We look forward to working with EVERY and other partners as we continue investing in Clinton, advancing our precision fermentation capabilities, and supporting innovation and value creation across the entire food supply, from farm to store shelf."

OvoPro is EVERY's flagship egg white protein ingredient, produced using precision fermentation rather than chickens. The ingredient delivers the binding, whipping, foaming and gelling functionality of conventional egg white while also serving as a high-quality protein source with a Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) of 1.0.

Unlike conventional egg ingredients, the company says OvoPro contains no cholesterol, no fat and no off-notes, allowing formulators to increase protein content while maintaining functional performance.

For Elizondo, reaching this point required a fundamental shift in how the company viewed itself.

Rather than continually refining the technology, EVERY eventually focused on delivering a repeatable commercial ingredient.

"The same is better than better," he told PPTI.

"It felt like we'd moved from being a technology company trying to prove something to being a company focused on producing and delivering a consistent ingredient at scale."

That transition mirrors a broader evolution across the precision fermentation sector.

"When we founded the company, it still felt like science fiction," Elizondo said.

"Today, there's much more maturity. The conversation is less about, 'What the heck is this?' and more about, 'Can you make it work? Can you do it at scale? Will it solve real problems?'"

The growing interest in protein fortification has also altered the commercial conversation.

Rather than positioning fermentation-derived proteins purely as replacements for conventional ingredients, manufacturers are increasingly evaluating them on functionality, resilience and supply security.

"We're thrilled to work with ADM to significantly expand production of OvoPro to service our multinational customers," Elizondo said in the announcement.

"The global surge in demand for protein fortification across almost all major food segments – especially in the USA – requires incredible scale and reliability. Our partnership with ADM enables both."

He added: "For food formulators seeking to expand and strengthen their supply chains, OvoPro provides a reliable, price-stable protein that delivers functional performance and protein content - helping provide manufacturers with confidence in product quality, supply security, and cost stability."

That emphasis on commercial execution has become increasingly important as the sector matures.

"You can't market your way into success in this industry," Elizondo told PPTI.

"You can't simply position your way into success. You have to deliver. You have to put all the puzzle pieces in place and then build a real business on top of them."

The partnership also reinforces ADM's ambitions in precision fermentation, with the Clinton facility becoming an increasingly important manufacturing hub for fermentation-derived ingredients.

For EVERY, however, the announcement represents something even more significant.

During his interview with PPTI, Elizondo reflected on the company's journey from an early-stage biotechnology startup into a commercial ingredient supplier.

"The goal has always been to transform the food system without requiring consumers to change their behavior or even think about it," he said.

With commercial-scale manufacturing now secured through one of the world's largest agricultural processors, that vision has moved a significant step closer to reality.

For more from Arturo Elizondo, read our exclusive Protein Pioneer interview in the next edition of Protein Production Technology International, where he reflects on a decade of building The EVERY Company and the future of precision fermentation. Subscribe free of charge here