Phytolon Secures Substantial Funding Toward Launching Innovative Natural Food Colors
NextGen Nutrition has placed an investment in Phytolon, a biotechnology company that offers natural food colors via fermentation-based technologies. We believe Phytolon has an overwhelming competitive advantage in making natural food colors, thereby becoming an integral part of our investment strategy to disrupt nutrition with superior ingredients. As California moves to ban the remaining artificial colorants still in foods, the natural colors market is about to get much larger. Phytolon is perfectly positioned with a range of superior colors that work in almost every type of food. We are pleased to join the impressive group of investors already committed to Phytolon including Chair Steve Dublin, DSM Nutritional Products AG and a host of others. We are joined by Dunedain Ventures in our investment.
YOKNE'AM ILLIT, Israel, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- After hitting fundamental milestones since the last financing round, Phytolon secures additional funding to support its commercial activities toward the first launch of its natural food colors (made by fermentation) in the food and beverage markets.
Phytolon offers a wide range of natural food colors (Credit: Sarit Goffen)
The investors include Nextgen Nutrition Investment Partners (NGN) supported by Dunedain Ventures. NGN is led by James Cali and Andrew Towle who bring vast experience in the global CPG industry. Two of the company's shareholders also invested: EIT Food, a major entity that promotes and accelerates innovation in the food systems, and Phytolon's Chairman Mr. Steve Dubin who has been guiding the company since its early stages.
Since closing Round A in the summer of 2022, Phytolon recorded significant progress in its path to commercialization and signed a commercial deal with DSM-Firmenich to distribute its wide range of natural food colors. Further, Phytolon extended its supply capabilities and has put in place a manufacturing agreement at an industrial scale with a CMO that ensures resilient supply to clients. Phytolon has also commenced an in-house facility for production and supply at a pilot scale and enriched its in-house capabilities for developing and scaling natural ingredients by fermentation.
Phytolon's CEO, Halim Jubran, commented on the transaction: "Due to the progress that we have made in the last two years, we are gaining more and more trust from top players in the global F&B industry, now perfectly demonstrated by the latest investments. We are excited to welcome our new partners, NGN, and strengthen our partnership with EIT Food and Mr. Steve Dubin, who have played crucial roles in the company's growth and success."
NGN's James Cali, said: "We believe Phytolon is perfectly positioned to create significant value in the food colors space with their advantaged, proprietary technology, and wide range of color options which address rapidly growing requirements for natural, free-from ingredients by consumers and industry. This is especially important with the movements in regulations related to food colors in California."
Matthias de Kock, Senior Investment Manager at EIT Food added: "EIT Food recognized Phytolon's potential from the outset and invested early on. Today, we're excited to witness this game-changing innovation in natural food colors unfold and we look forward to supporting Phytolon in its future stages of growth and innovation."
Phytolon offers a wide range of natural food colors (Credit: Sarit Goffen)
About Phytolon:
Phytolon is a biotechnology company that offers natural food colors via fermentation-based technologies. Leveraging its unique IP and capabilities, Phytolon provides to the industry natural food colors at their best shape, complying with the consumers' demand for clean label, healthy, and sustainable food systems. Phytolon has been based in Israel since 2018 and is supported by world-class business partners and investors.
About NGN:
NextGen Nutrition Investment Partners is an emerging investment manager focused on Technologies and Products that offer Disruptive Superior Nutrition to the Global Food Industry. They focus on three main parts of the enormous food sector: food technology, functionally superior ingredients and healthy branded products. Andrew Towle and James Cali are experienced executives with over 60+ years of managerial and operational experience in the food and beverage industry at firms such as Kraft/Mondelez, Kellogg's, P&G, Heinz, and Cadbury's. They are widely regarded as knowledgeable operating partners that understand the fundamentals of operating food & beverage companies both in the LIS and internationally, and the requirements needed to help young companies bring their products to the next level in the market.
About EIT Food:
EIT Food is the world's largest and most dynamic food innovation community. We accelerate innovation to build a future-fit food system that produces healthy and sustainable food for all. Supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, we invest in projects, organizations, and individuals that share our goals for a healthy and sustainable food system. We unlock innovation potential in businesses and universities and create and scale agrifood startups to bring new technologies and products to market. We equip entrepreneurs and professionals with the skills needed to transform the food system and put consumers at the heart of our work, helping build trust by reconnecting them to the origins of their food.
Email: Shir@phytolon.com
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SOURCE Phytolon
NextGen Nutrition Investment Partners invests in early and growth-stage companies in the food industry, focusing on businesses offering superior nutrition and a reduced impact to the planet, including branded food and beverages, food tech and superior food ingredients. As former consumer product executives with extensive experience in the food and beverage industry, the firm’s principals’ operational expertise will help these companies deliver superior business results and better returns for investors. NGN can be found at www.ngn-ip.com.