Perfect Day
Perfect Day is a Berkeley-based food-technology company that develops animal-free dairy proteins through microbial fermentation.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Perfect Day is a privately held food-technology company based in Berkeley, California. It develops dairy proteins, particularly whey proteins, without using cows. Its process uses genetically engineered microorganisms cultivated in fermentation tanks. The microorganisms are programmed with DNA sequences that direct them to produce proteins conventionally found in cow’s milk; after fermentation, the microorganisms are separated from the protein, which can then be purified and dried for use as a food ingredient. The company was founded by Isha Datar, Ryan Pandya, and Perumal Gandhi. The founders initially applied to the Synbiota biotechnology accelerator under the name New Harvest Dairy Project, drawing on Datar’s position at the cellular-agriculture nonprofit New Harvest and its scientific network. Their application was accepted on April 22, 2014, and the company was incorporated six days later under the name Muufri. It adopted the name Perfect Day in 2016, a reference to Lou Reed’s song of the same name. Perfect Day initially pursued consumer-facing dairy products such as cheese and yogurt. In late 2017, however, it began shifting toward a business-to-business ingredient model. Rather than building a large portfolio of its own retail products, the company sought food-industry partners that could incorporate its fermentation-derived dairy proteins into existing product lines. In November 2018, it announced a joint development agreement with Archer Daniels Midland intended to support commercial-scale volumes of non-animal whey protein. The company nevertheless used branded consumer products to demonstrate the technology. In July 2019, it released an animal-free whey-based ice cream in a limited online launch. The offering was sold in 1,000 three-pint bundles at $60 per bundle and sold out within hours. From 2020 onward, commercialization increasingly took place through partner brands and the Urgent Company, which marketed vegan dairy ice cream under the Brave Robot name. Graeter’s and Smitten Ice Cream also introduced products based on Perfect Day’s proteins. Other partner or affiliated launches included Modern Kitchen animal-free cream cheese in 2021, California Performance Co. sports-nutrition powders later that year, and Tomorrow Farms’ Bored Cow animal-free milk products in 2022. Perfect Day’s technology is positioned as an alternative to both conventional dairy production and plant-based substitutes. The resulting proteins are intended to have the functional, nutritional, and sensory characteristics of animal-derived dairy proteins, while avoiding the use of animals in protein production. The company’s products are generally described as animal-free rather than vegan in every respect, because formulations may contain other ingredients that require separate labeling analysis. The business has attracted substantial venture backing, including investment from Horizons Ventures, Temasek Holdings, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Bob Iger, former chairman of The Walt Disney Company, joined the company’s management board in October 2020. Perfect Day has also faced competitive and regulatory pressure from conventional dairy interests, including calls from U.S. dairy farmers for stricter enforcement of federal milk-labeling definitions. Its development reflects the broader cellular-agriculture movement, in which biotechnology is used to produce food components without raising or slaughtering animals.
History
Perfect Day emerged from the early cellular-agriculture movement, which seeks to produce animal-derived food components without using animals as the production system. Isha Datar, Ryan Pandya, and Perumal Gandhi developed the concept around producing dairy proteins through fermentation. Because Datar was a director of New Harvest, the founders applied to the Synbiota biotechnology accelerator as the New Harvest Dairy Project. The application was accepted on April 22, 2014, giving the team access to laboratory space, mentoring, and initial funding. The company was incorporated in California on April 28, 2014, under the name Muufri. The original concept emphasized consumer dairy products, including cheese and yogurt. The company’s core technical proposition was to engineer microorganisms so they would produce proteins normally found in cow’s milk. These organisms are cultivated in bioreactors, where they convert a carbohydrate feedstock into protein. Once fermentation is complete, the microbial cells are removed and the dairy proteins are purified and dried. The company describes the resulting ingredients as having the relevant nutritional and functional properties of conventional dairy proteins, while being produced without cows. In 2016, Muufri changed its name to Perfect Day. The new name was a reference to Lou Reed’s song and helped establish a broader consumer and corporate identity. By late 2017, the company was reconsidering its initial direct-to-consumer approach. It began discussing partnerships with established food manufacturers, allowing those companies to use Perfect Day’s proteins in products that already had manufacturing, distribution, and retail infrastructure. This business-to-business model became central to the company’s commercialization strategy. A major step in that direction came in November 2018, when Perfect Day announced a joint development agreement with Archer Daniels Midland. The agreement was intended to support commercial-scale production of non-animal whey protein. Perfect Day subsequently used limited consumer launches as demonstrations of what its ingredients could do. On July 11, 2019, it offered an animal-free whey-based ice cream through its website. The release was restricted to 1,000 three-pint bundles priced at $60, and the inventory sold out within hours. Beginning in 2020, Perfect Day increasingly commercialized through partner companies and the Urgent Company. Brave Robot sold vegan dairy ice cream made with Perfect Day proteins. Graeter’s began selling a related vegan dairy ice cream in November 2020, while Smitten Ice Cream used the proteins in its N’ice Cream products. These relationships illustrated the company’s shift from presenting itself mainly as a prospective branded dairy producer to supplying enabling ingredients for other food brands. The product platform expanded in 2021. Modern Kitchen introduced animal-free cream cheese using Perfect Day technology, and Perfect Day announced vegan whey-protein powders for sports nutrition through California Performance Co. In 2022, Tomorrow Farms introduced Bored Cow, a line of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry milk made with Perfect Day’s whey protein. The company’s applications therefore extended across frozen desserts, spreads, beverages, and performance nutrition. Perfect Day attracted investment from venture and strategic investors, including Horizons Ventures and Temasek Holdings, and later received investment from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Bob Iger joined its management board in October 2020, alongside co-founders Ryan Pandya and Perumal Gandhi and investors or representatives including Aftab Mathur and Patrick Zhang. The company has operated amid debate over the naming and regulation of alternative dairy products. U.S. dairy farmers asked the FDA to enforce federal rules defining milk, arguing that products made with Perfect Day’s proteins and plant-based products could compete with conventional dairy under similar terminology. This dispute reflects a broader regulatory question about how foods made through precision fermentation should be labeled. Perfect Day’s historical significance lies in helping move cellular agriculture from laboratory research toward commercial food ingredients and branded products.
- 2022
Bored Cow launch
[1]Tomorrow Farms launched Bored Cow milk products made with Perfect Day whey protein.
- 2021
Cream cheese and sports-nutrition expansion
[1]Modern Kitchen introduced animal-free cream cheese, while California Performance Co. launched protein powders using Perfect Day’s technology.
- 2020
Expansion through branded partners
[1]The company’s proteins entered partner products including Brave Robot and offerings from Graeter’s and Smitten Ice Cream.
- 2020
Bob Iger joins management board
[1]Former Disney chairman Bob Iger joined Perfect Day’s management board in October.
- 2019
First consumer product launch
[1]Perfect Day launched a limited animal-free whey-based ice cream product online.
- 2018
Archer Daniels Midland development agreement
[1]Perfect Day and Archer Daniels Midland announced a joint development agreement for commercial-scale non-animal whey protein.
- 2016
Muufri renamed Perfect Day
[1]The company adopted the Perfect Day name, referencing Lou Reed’s song.
- 2014
Synbiota accelerator application accepted
[1]The founders’ application, submitted as the New Harvest Dairy Project, was accepted on April 22, 2014.
- 2014
Company incorporated as Muufri
[1]Muufri was incorporated on April 28, 2014.
Products and positioning
A cellular-agriculture and food-technology company producing dairy proteins through precision fermentation, positioned as an animal-free alternative to conventional dairy and a functional alternative to plant-based dairy substitutes.
Food ingredient
Animal-free whey protein
Perfect Day’s principal platform is whey protein produced by engineered microorganisms in fermentation tanks. The microorganisms receive genetic instructions for making dairy proteins, and the resulting protein is separated from the cells, purified, and dried. It is intended for use in foods that traditionally rely on animal-derived whey, including frozen desserts, beverages, and sports nutrition.
Frozen dessert · 2019
Animal-free ice cream
The company’s first public product was an ice cream made with non-animal whey protein. The July 2019 online release was deliberately limited to 1,000 three-pint bundles and sold out within hours. Subsequent commercialization moved primarily through partner brands rather than a large standalone Perfect Day retail range.
Ice cream · 2020
Brave Robot
Brave Robot is a vegan dairy ice-cream brand commercialized through the Urgent Company using Perfect Day’s fermentation-derived dairy proteins. It served as one of the company’s principal consumer demonstrations of how animal-free whey could provide dairy-like performance in a finished frozen dessert.
Cream cheese · 2021
Modern Kitchen
Modern Kitchen introduced an animal-free cream-cheese product based on Perfect Day’s dairy-protein technology. The launch showed that the platform could be applied beyond ice cream to refrigerated spreads and other foods requiring dairy-protein functionality.
Sports nutrition · 2021
California Performance Co. protein powders
California Performance Co. used Perfect Day’s animal-free whey protein in vegan sports-nutrition powders. The offering extended the platform into performance nutrition, where whey protein’s familiar nutritional profile and functional properties are important product attributes.
Milk beverage · 2022
Bored Cow
Bored Cow, launched by Tomorrow Farms in 2022, offered chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry milk made with Perfect Day’s whey protein. It applied the company’s ingredient technology to flavored milk products positioned as animal-free dairy alternatives.
Brand decisions
2019
Limited launch of animal-free whey ice creamProduct launchBackground
Perfect Day used a small consumer release to demonstrate the taste and functionality of its fermentation-derived dairy proteins.
Action taken
It offered 1,000 three-pint bundles through its website at $60 per bundle.
Aftermath
The initial production run sold out within hours, after which commercialization increasingly proceeded through partner brands.
2018
Commercial-scale development agreement with Archer Daniels MidlandStrategyBackground
Perfect Day needed manufacturing and food-industry capabilities to move its whey-protein technology beyond laboratory and limited consumer demonstrations.
Action taken
The company announced a joint development agreement with Archer Daniels Midland to provide commercial-scale volumes of non-animal whey protein.
Aftermath
The agreement supported the company’s broader transition toward ingredient commercialization.
2017
Shift from direct consumer products to ingredient partnershipsStrategyBackground
Perfect Day had initially focused on making dairy products such as cheese and yogurt for direct retail sale. By late 2017, it was negotiating with food companies that could incorporate its proteins into established product lines.
Action taken
The company moved toward a business-to-business model centered on supplying fermentation-derived dairy proteins to food manufacturers and consumer brands.
Aftermath
The strategy led to collaborations and branded products spanning ice cream, cream cheese, sports nutrition, and flavored milk.
Recent events
- 2022
Bored Cow launches milk made with Perfect Day protein[1]
Product launch
Tomorrow Farms launched Bored Cow chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry milk products using Perfect Day’s whey protein.
- 2021
Modern Kitchen launches animal-free cream cheese[1]
Product launch
Perfect Day began marketing animal-free cream cheese through the Modern Kitchen brand.
- 2021
Perfect Day enters sports nutrition[1]
Product launch
The company announced vegan whey-protein powders under the California Performance Co. brand.
- 2020
Bob Iger joins Perfect Day’s management board[1]
Leadership change
Bob Iger, former chairman of The Walt Disney Company, joined the company’s management board.
- 2019
First animal-free ice cream launches[1]
Product launch
Perfect Day released a limited online ice-cream product made with animal-free whey protein; the initial run sold out within hours.
- 2018
Perfect Day and Archer Daniels Midland announce development agreement[1]
M&A
The companies announced a joint development agreement aimed at providing commercial-scale volumes of non-animal whey protein.
- 2017
Perfect Day shifts toward business-to-business ingredients[1]
Other
The company began negotiating with food-industry partners to place its fermentation-derived proteins into existing commercial products instead of focusing primarily on direct retail sales.
- 2016
Perfect Day changes its name[1]
Other
Muufri adopted the Perfect Day name, which refers to Lou Reed’s song of the same name.
- 2014
Perfect Day incorporated as Muufri[1]
Other
The company was incorporated on April 28, 2014, under the name Muufri after the founders’ accelerator application was accepted.
U.S. dairy interests challenge labeling treatment[1]
Regulation
U.S. dairy farmers asked the Food and Drug Administration to enforce federal milk-definition rules in response to competition from Perfect Day and plant-based milk products.
Sources5 sources
- 1Perfect Day (company)en.wikipedia.org
- 2Graeter’s Ice Cream partners with Perfect Day on ‘animal-free’ vegan ice cream launchfoodnavigator.com
- 3Perfect Day Appoints Robert Iger To Board Of Directorsprnewswire.com
- 4Perfect Day Expands Series C to $300 Million Led by CPP Investments After Breakthroughs in Animal-Free Dairy Production Capabilitiesedmontonsun.com
- 5Smitten Ice Cream partners with Perfect Day on vegan linedairyreporter.com
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