Phytolon, a Yokneam Illit, Israel-based biotech food colorant startup, raised $14.5M in Series A funding.
The round was led by DSM Venturing, with participation from Cibus Fund, Ginkgo Bioworks and The Trendlines Agrifood Fund, Arkin Holdings, Millennium Foodtech, Agriline (administered by Consensus Business Group), Stern Tech, and OpenValley/Yossi Ackerman.
The company intends to use the funds to accelerate the commercialization of its proprietary palette of sustainable food colors.
Led by CEO Dr. Halim Jubran, Phytolon is advancing fermentation-based natural food colors by leveraging novel technology to produce natural pigments via precision fermentation of yeast.
The proprietary technology is based on licensed technology from the Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel) and addresses the need for sustainable natural food-coloring alternatives to azo/synthetic dyes used in food and beverages.
Phytolon offers a wide range of natural colors from yellow to purple, at competitive coloring performance and cost-in-use, for multiple food categories like alternative meat, dairy, frozen products, baked goods, confectionery, and snacks.
The technology has already reached a semi-industrial production scale and the company has prepared the ground for regulatory clearances in the USA and Europe.
Phytolon’s Board of Directors is chaired by Steve Dubin, who played a pivotal role in directing Phytolon through this financing round. Mr. Dubin has worked with several biotechnology/nutrition companies including as CEO of Martek Biosciences (acquired by DSM in 2011), as Chairman of Enzymotec, and as Senior Advisor to DSM (until 2012).
FinSMEs
07/07/2022