California Start-Up Makes Bacon Without Pigs

On Valentine’s Day, Prime Roots launched their “superprotein” bacon exclusively on their website. Described as "meatless but oh so meaty," this buzzed-about “bacon” is actually made from kōji, a traditional Japanese superfood.

While researching plant-based food at The University of California Berkeley’s Alternative Meat Lab, founders Kimberlie Le and Joshua Nixon discovered the kōji fungus has a texture that is “microscopically the same as animal muscle fiber.” This results in a naturally "meaty” texture and an umami flavor. Le and Nixon’s discovery generated 4.25 million in seed funding, and now they are growing and harvesting kōji to produce their plant-based meats in Berkeley, California.

In the near future, Prime Roots will venture beyond bacon and branch into new types of plant-based protein, including seafood. Although their much-hyped bacon sold out almost immediately, customers can sign up for the waitlist for the next restock and be notified of other new Prime Roots product launches. According to founder Kimberlie Le, Prime Roots is “scaling up (their) production to meet the insane demand for bacon and other meatless products.”