David’s Post

🍼 FoodTech 500 alum secures funding for breast milk protein alternative. Helaina, a US-based startup specializing in precision fermentation, has raised $45M in Series B funding to commercialize its Effera Human Lactoferrin, a protein alternative to breast milk. The company plans to launch Effera in the US market later this year through collaborations with brands such as Kroma Wellness and Mitsubishi International Food Ingredients, Inc., with further expansion into North America and Europe. Helaina's Effera Human Lactoferrin mimics the bioactive properties of human lactoferrin, a protein known for its immune-boosting, antiviral, and gut health benefits. The company utilizes yeast microbes to produce this protein, which can be incorporated into various functional foods, beverages, and supplements. Helaina’s founder and CEO, Laura Katz, emphasizes the versatility of the powdered form, which allows for broader applications across multiple health and nutrition categories including: 👩🏻🦰 women’s health 👵🏻 healthy aging 👶🏻 infant formula Helaina’s significant funding comes during a renewed investor focus on precision fermentation, a sector that has surpassed $550M in funding in the first three quarters of 2024. Helaina’s innovation, focused on producing human-equivalent proteins, is expected to transform the availability of bioactive proteins, addressing pressing health and wellness needs across various life stages. More information in the full Green Queen Media article: https://lnkd.in/dzJcAD7n #ForwardFooding #FoodTech500 #foodtech #innovation #altprotein #futurefood #precisionfermentation

Earlier in September, precision fermentation dairy company Helaina secured $45 million in Series B funding to commercialize its first product, effera Human Lactoferrin. Helaina's funding round was led by Avidity Partners and featured investments from Spark Capital, Ingeborg Investments, Siam Capital, and Primary Venture Partners. This latest funding round brings Helaina's total funding to $83 million. The company previously raised $20 million in Series A funding in November 2021 and $4 million in seed funding in 2020. Effera Human Lactoferrin is positioned as a novel ingredient to support women's health, active nutrition, and healthy aging. Helaina claims the protein supports iron homeostasis, metabolism, immune function, and promotes a beneficial microbiome. Helaina plans to sell its effera product to consumer brands and through strategic distribution partners, including Kroma Wellness, The Feed, and Levelle Nutrition. Similar to companies like TurtleTree exploring the market for precision fermentation lactoferrin, potential applications for the cell-cultured protein span functional foods, sports nutrition, and potentially infant formula. Helaina shared that the company is already exploring infant formula applications in partnership with manufacturers. #cellag #futureoffood #precisionfermentation

🚀 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀: 𝗞𝗲𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗔𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀' 𝗟𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀® 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆!  🚀 We’re thrilled to announce that DirectSens GmbH has achieved a major milestone with the acquisition of its market leading LactoSens® biosensor technology by Kerry, a global leader in taste and nutrition. The acquisition of LactoSens® reflects DirectSens’ success in developing cutting-edge biosensor solutions and represents a move by Kerry to complement its offering in lactase enzymes.  As the trusted contract manufacturer, DirectSens GmbH will continue to ensure the high-quality production of LactoSens®, upholding the product’s established market reputation. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀® Since its introduction, 8 years ago, LactoSens® has become the industry’s preferred solution for fast, accurate, and cost-effective lactose detection. It is widely used in food and beverage manufacturing, enabling producers to meet stringent regulatory requirements while running their processes efficiently.  𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀’ 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁-𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗻𝘇𝘆𝗺𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 For DirectSens GmbH, this acquisition proves the market value of its biosensor technology. "𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘪𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴." said Dr. Christoph Sygmund, CEO of DirectSens GmbH. "𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦." Excited by this success and support, the DirectSens-team, with all its dedicated and passionate individuals, is looking forward to continuing to creating new products such as OatSens, LactaZyme®, XpressGT®, and to foster collaborations with valued partners.  𝗔 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 DirectSens’ 12 years journey from a spin-off at University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) to a global biosensor leader is a testament to the power of long-term vision and sustained support. This success was made possible through pivotal early investments from BOKU Innovation & Entrepreneurship, tecnet equity, Austria Wirtschaftsservice, LISAvienna, FFG Austrian Research Promotion Agency, and the Wirtschaftsagentur Wien , along with the ongoing support from Innofly Management GmbH, i5invest, BRANDL TALOS Rechtsanwälte, Herbst Kinsky, VScore, Mario Pregetter, REDL Life Science Patent Attorney, and the guidance of a highly skilled advisory board.  Link to full PR: https://lnkd.in/dFwnXkAr

Paine Schwartz Partners has acquired Promix Nutrition, a high-growth company specializing in science-backed nutritional products and clean ingredient supplements. Promix's leadership team, including Founder and CEO Albert Matheny IV, will continue to lead the business, with support from Kevin Schwartz's investment team at Paine Schwartz Partners. Paine Schwartz Partners https://lnkd.in/e37atG8V #LBO #Buyouts

💰🍼 EFFERA: HELAINA NABS $45M FOR BREAST MILK LACTOFERRIN EQUIVALENT Helaina, the New York-based firm making breast milk alternatives with precision fermentation, has secured $45M in a Series B funding round, ahead of a US market launch this year. One of the largest sums raised by an alternative protein company this year, the investment was led by Avidity Partners, with additional participation from Spark Capital, Ingeborg Investments, Tom Williams of Heron Rock, Siam Capital, and Relish Works, among others. It takes Helaina’s total funding to $83M, making it one of the most well-capitalised precision fermentation startups globally. The company will use the money to scale up and launch its Effera Human Lactoferrin ingredient – a breast milk equivalent protein – as part of consumer products by Kroma Wellness, The Feed, Levelle Nutrition, Healthgevity, and Mitsubishi International Food Ingredients, Inc. The precision-fermented lactoferrin will come to the market “in the next quarter”, Helaina founder and CEO Laura Katz tells Green Queen. “We’re starting with a US launch and then we will expand globally,” she says when asked about the company’s regulatory plans. “We’re particularly interested in the rest of North America and Europe.” Katz, a food scientist, established Helaina in 2019, spotting an opportunity to use precision fermentation to advance human health through “next-generation” nutrients. The company's ingredient Effera is said to boost iron homeostasis and metabolism, and promote a balanced immune response and beneficial microbiome. Other startups working on lactoferrin include TurtleTree, All G Foods, Noumi, De Novo Foodlabs, Triplebar (in collaboration with FrieslandCampina), and Daisy Lab. Meanwhile, companies working on breast milk alternatives include Wilk (TLV: WILK), Nūmi, Yali Bio, and The Live Green Co. Learn more in the full article: https://lnkd.in/dzJcAD7n #GreenQueen #precisionfermentation #nutrition #futurefood #innovation #foodtech

🔗 Pluckk Acquires Upnourish for $1.4 Million to Enhance Nutrition Offerings. In a strategic move to strengthen its presence in the nutrition sector, Pluckk has acquired Upnourish for $1.4 million. 💰 Acquisition Details: - This acquisition aims to integrate Upnourish’s innovative nutritional solutions into Pluckk’s existing product line, enhancing overall value for customers. - The investment signifies Pluckk's commitment to expanding its footprint in the health and wellness market. 📈 Growth Strategy: - By incorporating Upnourish's offerings, Pluckk plans to diversify its portfolio and cater to the growing consumer demand for health-focused products. - The acquisition is expected to accelerate product development and enhance marketing efforts. 🌟 Market Context: - The health and nutrition market is experiencing robust growth, driven by increasing consumer awareness and demand for nutritious food options. - Pluckk's strategic acquisition positions it favorably to capitalize on these market trends. 🔄 Future Outlook: - The integration of Upnourish is anticipated to foster innovation and improve customer engagement, further solidifying Pluckk's market position. - As the nutrition landscape evolves, Pluckk aims to become a leading player by offering comprehensive solutions that meet diverse consumer needs. With the acquisition of Upnourish, Pluckk is poised to elevate its nutrition offerings, creating a more holistic approach to health and wellness. Pluckk | UpNourish #Pluckk #Upnourish #Acquisition #Nutrition #HealthAndWellness #MarketGrowth #Microshots

Arla Foods Ingredients moves forward with acquisition of Volac Whey Nutrition business TAIPEI, TAIWAN – Media OutReach Newswire (https://buff.ly/3XJej0c) – 18 November 2024 – Arla Foods Ingredients (https://buff.ly/4hTouqH) is moving forward with its acquisition of Volac’s Whey Nutrition business, after it was approved by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority. The regulator’s go-ahead followed an agreement between the two companies, which was signed in April 2024. Arla Foods Ingredients The business is built around a processing facility at Felinfach in Wales, which handles large volumes of whey and specialises in the production of whey protein isolate (WPI). The site will now become a cornerstone of Arla Foods Ingredients’ global production facilities, with further investment and expansion planned in the coming years. The acquisition gives the nutrition leader a significant additional quantity of whey, helping it meet a growing market need. There is particular demand for WPI in the health and sports nutrition sectors, which grew by a CAGR of 9% between 2010 and 2023.[1] Arla Foods Ingredients now projects that its sales of WPI will rise significantly over the next five years. The facility will also produce whey fat concentrate and lactose. Full Story https://buff.ly/3UYDjhX

The latest episode of the New Food 'Food to Go' podcast is out now! 🎙️ This week, I’m joined by Karthik Kondepudi from Herbochem to discuss the exciting trends shaping the nutraceutical industry and how the market has evolved in recent years. In this episode we explore:
👉 Herbochem’s approach to innovating the sector 👉 The most important buying considerations for consumers
👉 The future of personalised nutrition
 Plus, Karthik shares the challenges of balancing taste, shelf stability and functionality You can listen to the episode via the link below. https://lnkd.in/eKzvHB9v #Nutraceuticals #Trends #Herbochem #PersonalisedNutrition #FoodNews

Nutrabay Raises $5M in Series A Funding to Expand and Innovate in Sports Nutrition Nutrabay, a leading direct-to-consumer (D2C) sports nutrition retailer, has secured $5 million in its first institutional funding round, led by RPSG Capital Ventures with participation from Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Limited. This funding marks a significant milestone for Nutrabay as it gears up to expand its omnichannel presence and drive new product innovation. Founded in 2017, Nutrabay has grown into a multi-brand retail powerhouse, offering over 100 brands alongside its own private label. The company’s products are available on its D2C website, major e-commerce platforms, and offline supplement stores. With a vision to provide high-quality nutrition products, Nutrabay is focused on expanding its brand across three key categories: sports nutrition, vitamins, minerals, supplements (VMS), and health food and drinks. Nutrabay saw an impressive 80% growth in fiscal 2024 and plans to introduce 50+ new products by the next fiscal year. The company’s growth is fueled by increasing demand from tier 2 and beyond markets, a trend RPSG Capital Ventures has observed in the broader nutrition and wellness space.  Sharad Jain, Shreyans Jain, Divya Prakash Jain #Nutrabay #SportsNutrition #D2C #StartupFunding #HealthAndWellness #ProductInnovation #MarketExpansion

🚀 Exciting News at Path Forward Formulator®! 🚀 We are delighted to announce that AstaReal has joined Path Forward Formulator® as an ingredient partner! AstaReal, a global leader in natural astaxanthin, brings over 35 years of innovation, backed by an unparalleled commitment to quality and science. Their premium natural astaxanthin ingredients are now available in our global dataset, ready to empower our users in creating cutting-edge formulations. AstaReal’s offerings available to use in our dataset include: 🌟 AstaReal® 1% Water Dispersible Liquid 🌟 AstaReal® 2.5% Water Dispersible Powder 🌟 AstaReal® 10% Oil 🌟 AstaReal® 4.5% Whole Algae Powder 🌟 Softgels 2, 4, 6, and 12 mg Astaxanthin As the world’s first producer of commercial natural astaxanthin and a subsidiary of Fuji Chemical Industries Co., Ltd., AstaReal has built the scientific foundation that made the natural astaxanthin industry possible. Their natural astaxanthin is produced in Moses Lake, Washington, USA, and Gustavsberg, Sweden, using a closed indoor process. This ensures the highest quality standards and a consistent product you can trust. With over 80 human clinical studies supporting their products, AstaReal stands out as the proven choice for leading supplement, cosmetic, functional food, and animal nutrition brands worldwide. Their commitment to innovation, R&D, and customer success has redefined what’s possible in functional nutrition. At Path Forward Formulator®, we are proud to partner with AstaReal to bring these incredible ingredients to our users. Together, we are helping formulators unlock the full potential of astaxanthin to meet health management and preventative care goals. 🌟 Let’s work together to innovate and transform health and wellness! 🌟 About AstaReal AstaReal’s mission is to bring better health and well-being to people around the world. By investing in scientific research and supporting brands globally, AstaReal ensures that everyone can experience the benefits of natural astaxanthin and live healthier lives. To learn more about AstaReal’s ingredient portfolio: www.astarealusa.com AstaReal | Japan Connect with Myla Norvell For more information about Path Forward Formulator®: https://lnkd.in/eSFgZmcn #partnership #innovation #astaxanthin #supplements #formulation #AstaReal #PathForwardFormulator #nutrition #productdevelopment