Phytolon, a developer of fermentation-based natural food colours and a portfolio company of locally listed The Trendlines Group, has secured US$14.5 million ($20.4 million) in funding, led by DSM Venturing, to further progress its technology towards commercialisation, with participation from Cibus Fund, Ginkgo Bioworks (in-kind investment in the form of Foundry services) and The Trendlines Agrifood Fund.
Participation in this Series A also includes some of Phytolon’s current shareholders: The Trendlines Group (the largest shareholder in the company), Arkin Holdings, Millennium Foodtech, Agriline (administered by Consensus Business Group), Stern Tech, and OpenValley/Yossi Ackerman.
Phytolon’s proprietary technology is based on licensed technology from the Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel) and addresses the need for healthy, efficient, and sustainable natural food-colouring alternatives to azo/synthetic dyes used in food and beverages.
Current natural food colours are agriculture-dependent and mostly derived from fruit and vegetables. Phytolon leverages a novel technology to produce betalain pigments by fermentation of baker’s yeast. Phytolon offers a wide range of natural colours from yellow to purple, at competitive colouring performance and cost-in-use, for multiple food categories like alternative meat, dairy, frozen products, baked goods, confectionery, and snacks.
Phytolon’s technology has already reached a semi-industrial production scale and the company has prepared the ground for regulatory clearances in the US and Europe.
Dr Halim Jubran, co-founder and CEO of Phytolon, says: “The investments of DSM Venturing, Cibus Fund, and Ginkgo Bioworks open the door for broad penetration of our products in the global food industry. We are excited to have new investors who share our vision to create healthy, efficient, and sustainable food systems via biotechnology.”
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Phytolon’s board of directors is chaired by Steve Dubin, who played a pivotal role in directing Phytolon through this financing round. Dubin has worked with several biotechnology/nutrition companies including as CEO of Martek Biosciences, chairman of Enzymotec, and as senior advisor to DSM.
Commenting on the transaction, Dubin adds: “I believe this investment round and DSM’s participation in Phytolon will accelerate the commercialisation of Phytolon’s proprietary palette of sustainable food colours that will provide important benefits to both food producers and consumers.”
Shares in The Trendlines Group closed at 10 cents on July 6.
Photo: Phytolon
