Protein Brewery, a food tech firm based in the Netherlands, has raised a whopping €18 million (USD $20.5 million) with the extension of its Series B fundraising round, bringing its total raised amount to over €70 million (USD $79.8 million). In the round, the new investor ABN AMRO Sustainable Impact Funds leads the way and existing investors such as Invest-NL, Novo Holdings, Madeli and the Brabant Development Agency (BOM) are involved.

Founded in 2020 as a spin-off from Dutch biotechnology company BioscienZ, the company is dedicated to creating a scalable brewing process that enables the production of sustainable protein, fermentation-based protein, alternative protein, food technology, and mycelium-based ingredients. Protein Brewery's fermentation technology transforms sugar rich streams into protein biomass that is used for food and nutrition ingredients.

The company specializes in protein production via the fermentation process.

Protein Brewery's primary product, Fermotein, is a whole-food mycelium product that is touted as a replacement for traditional protein sources for food producers. The ingredient is able to deliver full nutrition without the need for as many resources as traditional animal protein production, the company said.

The funds are raised as concerns over the impact of the global food production system on the environment grow, the company said. Protein Brewery emphasized that much of the land and water resources required in agriculture are being utilized for livestock feeds production which is putting pressure on natural resources and food value chains.

Eco-impact and resource efficiency

Fermotein uses 5-30 times less water and 5-20 times less land per kilogram of protein than the traditional plant-based ingredients and milk, according to Protein Brewery. The reduced resource demands show the promise of solutions based on fermentation for producing more efficient foods," the company said.

The production process is a ‘zero waste’ brewing approach that focuses on optimizing the use of resources and converting available resources into protein-rich biomass. This way, the company contributes to the development of food ingredients that are less harmful to the environment, the company said.

Expansion plans following funding round

The new funds will allow the company to continue its next stage of expansion, such as scaling up production, wider commercialisation and further research into Fermotein. The company, known as Protein Brewery, is looking to boost the capacity of its Mijkenbroek site to over 2,000 metric tons of production through investments and production expansion.

Following European Union (EU) Novel Food authorisation, the company plans to expand its commercial activities throughout Europe. The expansion will be directed towards applications in the area of active nutrition and functional food and beverage.

Research and market development activities

Protein Brewery said that part of the funding will be used to fund scientific research on how the Fermotein could benefit the health, such as clinical research in nutrition, longevity, and other areas. The company will also pursue regulatory clearance in other markets, such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India.

According to the company, these are designed to help foster greater use of fermentation-derived protein ingredients as demand for alternative sources of protein continues to rise.

Comments from leadership on scale up of production.

The new investment will enable the company to scale up production capacity needed by food brands and manufacturers and take the next logical step from showing the potential of whole-food mycelium ingredients to scaling up the business, Thijs Bosch, CEO of Protein Brewery, explained.

This extra investment puts us from proving whole-food mycelium as a desirable ingredient to providing it at the level brands and manufacturers require. Fermotein is in development to help solve the problem of feeding the world's expanding population without straining environmental resources," he said.

From the investor, Sustainable Food Technology from the Investors perspective.

“Protein Brewery has developed an industrial-scale production process, which is based on scientific research, and is developing commercial applications of its technology,” said Ugur Yuksel, Investment Manager at ABN AMRO Sustainable Impact Fund.

The Protein Brewery has been able to “put good science into an industrial scale production process and a thriving commercial enterprise,” Yuksel said, noting that the firm fits the fund's criteria of companies with measurable environmental impact.

Armed with this investment, Protein Brewery will continue to scale its fermentation technology, increase market reach, and create protein solutions to help power future food systems.