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🛠 Liberation Labs raised $3.4M to continue developing infrastructure for commercial-scale biomanufacturing Agronomics Pvt. Ltd. contributed $2M to the funding through a Secured Promissory Note, which carries 10% annual interest and is set to mature in October 2027. With this new investment, Agronomics' total funding in Liberation Labs amounts to $19.6M, granting them a 37.5% ownership stake on a fully diluted basis. The US-based precision fermentation startup provides the infrastructure to scale the production of novel proteins. The $2M from Agronomics will be used to continue constructing the Richmond, Indiana Launch Facility. The remaining $1.39M will fund a feasibility study to develop a larger, flexible-use biomanufacturing facility capable of producing at a 4-million-litre scale. Mark Warner ✉️ Hungry for more updates on biotech-enabled agrifood businesses and breakthroughs? Devour the free subscription: betterbioeconomy.com

Boston-based foodtech firm Motif FoodWorks—best-known for its meaty tasting heme proteins produced via precision fermentation—is closing down. The firm, which has been engaged in a costly IP battle with Impossible Foods that was resolved this week with both parties agreeing to cover their own costs, told remaining staff the news this afternoon. A high-profile player in the alt protein field, Motif FoodWorks has raised $345m since it spun off from Ginkgo Bioworks in 2019 on a mission to elevate meat and dairy alternatives with high impact, low-inclusion ingredients. The firm, which raised a staggering $226m series B round in 2021 when money was cheap and interest in alternative proteins was sky-high, has since struggled to navigate a more challenging environment, with investor sentiment souring on meat alternatives amid declining retail sales. #foodtech AgFunder #syntheticbiology #precisionfermentation #heme #fermentation #alternativeproteins #altmeat Motif FoodWorks Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc.

🚀 PERKii Targeted Release Probiotics are back on the VentureCrowd platform! 🚀 From a breakthrough idea at the University of Queensland to over AUD $28M in revenue, PERKii  has been on a mission to transform gut health with its world-first micro-encapsulation technology. 🧬💧  This innovation ensures probiotics survive 10,000x better, delivering real benefits to consumers. Today, you can register your interest to invest in a company with a strong presence in Coles and Woolworths 🏪 and an 18% annual growth rate!  PERKii are ready to expand into the booming Southeast Asian market which is projected to grow from AUD $32B to AUD $50B by 2029. 🌏 Register now to secure early access to the live deal! 🔗 https://bit.ly/48wxbTP #InvestmentOpportunity #VentureCrowd #PERKii #FoodTech Always consider the offer documents before investing.

Plantible Foods Secures $30M in Series B Funding Plantible Foods, a food technology company, announced the completion of a $30 million Series B funding round. The round was co-led by Piva Capital and Siddhi Capital, with additional investment from Betagro Ventures, Cultivate Next / Chipotle, Nourish Ventures, and returning investor Astanor Ventures. The funds will support the company’s manufacturing operations and production of its proprietary plant-based protein, Rubi Protein. The funding will be used to scale operations at Plantible’s first commercial facility, “The Ranchito,” a 100-acre plant located in West Texas. The facility is expected to help Plantible meet increasing demand from food companies for plant-based protein options. Tony Martens Fekini, CEO of Plantible Foods, stated: “This funding will enable us to expand our manufacturing capabilities and meet the growing demand for Rubi Protein. We are focused on delivering an ingredient that supports the needs of the food industry.” Read more here -> https://lnkd.in/eQrssUgh 🌟 Follow us for daily AgTech updates 📬 Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly industry insights: agtechdigest.com

Ready to Rumble! Come and visit Ingrizo at #Intrafood24 Discover latest innovations and trends in food and nutra at Booth D01! #Intrafood #Voedingsindustrie #Nutrasector #Innovatie #Ingrediënten #Netwerken #FoodTrends #Seminars #FoodScience

We are proud to announce the Pacifico Biolabs from our 2024 EIT Food Accelerator Network cohort and EIT Food Seedbed Incubator alumni has raised $3.3 million in pre-seed funding to “Transform Seafood” with whole cut alternatives.    The funding round was co-led by Simon Capital and FoodLabs, including Exceptional Ventures and Sprout & About Ventures.   Zac Austin and Washington Logroño saw alternative seafood as a fairly neglected part of the alternative protein industry, which is why they have teamed up to found Pacifico Biolabs to significantly impact environmental challenges through the application of science. The duo saw fermentation of mycelium as an opportunity to significantly improve on the texture, taste, and nutrition vs. many plant based approaches. “Our technology was developed with a focus on solving many of the challenges that have been faced by both plant-based and fermentation companies in the alternative protein sector. Alternative protein products we’ve seen in the market are typically plant-based, using extruded soy or pea protein. The challenge for this approach is to create products that are healthy whilst closely replicating the texture of animal products. We saw fermentation of mycelium as an opportunity to significantly improve on the texture, taste, and nutrition vs. many plant based approaches. Nutritionally, our products exceed conventional seafood, such as cod or salmon in both protein and omega-3.” Zac Austin CEO and Co-Founder Pacifico Biolabs Over the next 12 months Pacifico Biolabs will focus on scaling-up their production, expanding their team, further process optimisation and unlock first sales. Congratulations to the entire team and everyone involved. Great to see a team building a process with cost and scalability as their core consideration, focusing on creating products that excel in both texture, flavour and nutrition.    #foodsystemtransformation #agrifoodtechinnovation #startupacceleration

🙌🏻💰 DE NOVO FOODLABS NABS $1.5M FOR ANIMAL-FREE LACTOFERRIN PROTEIN North Carolina-based De Novo Foodlabs, which is making animal-free lactoferrin, has attracted $1.5M in a seed investment round led by California’s Joyful VC. It takes the total capital raised by the precision fermentation startup to $4M, following a $2.5M pre-seed round in 2022. Previous investors include Sustainable Food Ventures, Siddhi Capital, CULT Food Science and PRITHVI CAPITAL MARKETS LIMITED. Joyful Ventures is spearheaded by Vegan Women Summit’s Jennifer Stojkovic, The Good Food Institute co-founder Milo Runkle. It was launched last year with a $23M infusion from alternative protein leaders, with advisors and investors like Oatly co-founder Björn Öste, Shiok Meats co-founder Sandhya Sriram, PhD, The EVERY Company CEO Arturo Elizondo, and Wild Earth CEO Ryan Bethencourt. Being backed by a strong pedigree of investors will help De Novo Foodlabs “go from where we are today to commercialising our product”, co-founder and CEO Jean Louwrens tells Green Queen. Louwrens established the company alongside CSO Dr Leah Bessa, COO Richard Grieves, and protein R&D lead Joni Symon in 2021, with the aim of creating “rare protein-based functional ingredients” without animals. De Novo Foodlabs’ first ingredient is NanoFerrin, a precision-fermented version of lactoferrin. The iron-rich whey protein is found in human milk in bovine colostrum produced just after birth, and has a host of functional benefits. It’s crucial for infant development, and offers improved immunity, brain health, iron absorption, and gut health in adults. The fresh capital would allow De Novo Foodlabs to expand its production capacity (from kgs to tonnes) to meet demand from food, beverage and supplement customers, says Louwrens. Learn more in the full article: https://lnkd.in/ecviSGEX #GreenQueen #altprotein #animalfree #innovation #precisionfermentation #futurefood #animalfree

🍹 The #kombucha is all the rage! A few years ago, it was a fermented drink with a curious name, almost unknown to the general public. 📈 However, due to its #functionalproperties and the rise of non-alcoholic fermented drinks, more and more companies are aware of this new business opportunity and are launching new products to win the battle for shelf space. Due to this growth, companies are facing challenges such as: 🏭 Modifying their production processes to a larger scale of work, but assuring the  #safety and #quality of the final product. 📦 Ensuring the stability of the product throughout its shelf life. 🎤 These are some of the topics that were addressed at the Kombuchakon KBI Euro 2024 congress, which was held a few days ago in Barcelona, organized by Kombucha Brewers International. At this event, our colleague Dante Fratebianchi  from CNTA talked about: 🔍 Solutions to create a stable and homogeneous product. 🧪 New ways to demonstrate the functionality of products to allow companies to incorpórate health-related benefits in their claims. 📍 Powered by Ingredients for a Circular Economy European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) | Wagralim, the Agri-Food Innovation Cluster of Wallonia | Valorial, le réseau innovation agri-agro | Flanders' FOOD| Agrifood Clust-ER | Innov'Alliance - Pôle de compétitivité de la Naturalité et des filières du végétal | CNTA | NAGRIFOOD - CLUSTER AGROALIMENTARIO DE NAVARRA | ANFACO-CECOPESCA | #AgrotechnologyExportCluster | ATECluster Thessaloniki Greece | Vésale Pharma | BRETAGNE CHIMIE FINE | Region of Central Macedonia | MARIA GOULAPTSI | FENGA FOOD INNOVATION SAS | ARTECHNO sa | Koukakis Farm S.A. | THT | Ingredalia S.L. | Bugslab | Avecom | Calidris Bio | Ε.Β.Υ.Π. Ε.Ε. / EVYP LLP | COCONT | #HifasInnovationHub #innovation #Biotech4Food #B4F #SMEs #biotechnology #valuechain #agrifood

The future of food production is no longer just a Hollywood dream—it's a tangible reality, and it's happening right here in Brazil! cellva is going to promote a dynamic discussion on bioingredients in Brazil, where we'll dive deep into the latest advancements aiming to reshape the food supply chain worldwide. We are gathering top professionals from the food industry, ingredients, investors, scientists, and innovative chefs for an enriching exchange of ideas and insights. Stay tuned to know more about this conversation that's revolutionizing the way we think about food production! #FoodInnovation #SustainableFood #NutritionPartner #TasteMakers #Cellva #FoodSupplyChain

Over the coming months, we will be introducing our incredible team here at Marlow Ingredients, highlighting their contribution to the work we do. First up is Wilco Meijer, Head of Science and Technology 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿?  Since my PhD, which started in 1992. My thesis focussed heavily on dairy, which raised my interest for the food industry. After that I joined NIZO, a contract research organisation for the food industry. From 2003 onwards I moved to the ingredient industry (CSK and DSM), mainly focussing on fermentation based ingredients for dairy applications. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗜𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀?  The combination of the technology base the company is founded on in combination with the mission with which we want to contribute to a more sustainable food supply on this earth. 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂? Inspiration comes primarily from the people around me. Together we combine efforts, align targets and get things done. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲? 𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀/𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺? We work in an intensively growing segment and sometimes there are many opportunities coming from different directions. This requires constant learning and development of new skill sets in our team. Coming from science, curiosity is a natural part of us so it’s a really exciting challenge to have. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆? Very promising. I really think Marlow mycoprotein could act as the protein which supports the transition to alternative meat and dairy. The beauty of our mycoprotein is in the combination of the neutral basic flavour, while the protein itself in application can really contribute to the skeleton of the food matrix. It is more than just a protein. #team #science #mycoprotein #meettheteam