THE DISRUPTOR: FUELLED BY A LOVE FOR CHEESE TO DEVELOP CELL-BASED MILK.
Lin Fengru is not one to be fazed by challenges when pursuing the things she loves, even if it means making a foray into territory that’s not just entirely new to her, but also largely uncharted. Her grit and determination has today made her the driving force behind one of the biggest disruptions in the billion-dollar dairy industry.
A Singapore Management University graduate in Information System Management and Marketing, Fengru cut her teeth in corporate sales roles at Google and Salesforce. However, in 2019, disenchanted with the lack of good milk options to make quality cheese in her kitchen, the cheese connoisseur made a life-changing move into the industry of biotechnology. She co-founded Turtletree Labs to make high-quality milk in the lab using stem cell technology. That vision was propelled by a desire to also leave a lasting impact on the planet. Today, her biotech start-up makes milk without using mammals, through a process that uses less land, water and energy, and carries reduced risk of diseases, paving the way for a sustainable future.
Three years ago, when Lin Fengru was engaged in her favourite hobby – trying to make cheese in her kitchen – she hit a roadblock: She realised that the types of milk available in the market just weren’t
