MINNEAPOLIS — Cargill and Cubiq Foods, a food technology company based out of Barcelona, have entered into co-development and go-to-market agreements for novel, plant-based fat ingredients.

The partnership will accelerate the wide-scale commercialization of Cubiq’s fat technologies that can enhance flavor, reduce total fat and saturated fat content, improve caloric content and incorporate essential fatty acids like omega-3, according to the company. Cargill and Cubiq also will develop new fat technologies, aimed at closing the gap between consumer expectations and existing plant-based alternative products, for a variety of applications in the plant-based meat and alternative dairy sectors.

“By embracing new technologies, harnessing our full ingredient toolbox and leveraging our global application knowledge, we’re poised to accelerate the development of the next-generation plant-based products,” said Vivek Cherian, meat and dairy alternatives category leader for edible oils at Cargill. “Ultimately, it will be a win for consumers, as we enable food manufacturers to create products and solutions with an eye toward both people and the planet.”

Cubiq’s existing line of novel fat technologies including Go!Drop, an emulsion of vegetable oils and water mixed with other plant-based ingredients that replicates the appearance and texture of animal fat, joins Cargill’s portfolio of plant proteins, texturizers, fats, oils and other plant-based ingredients.

The agreements follow Cargill’s participation in Cubiq’s $6 million funding round in May 2022.

“Signing the joint development and commercial agreements represents the next phase in our partnership, as our groundbreaking technology is now ready for application development, production scale-up and widespread commercialization — roles that Cargill is uniquely equipped to help us advance,” said Andrés Montefeltro, chief executive officer at Cubiq. “Together, we’ll help food manufacturers and consumers reimagine what’s possible in the quest for healthy and satisfying foods.”