Singapore-based agri-biotech company Nutrition Technologies has on Monday completed an equity venture round of $20 million led by PTT Ventures.
The round was supported by Sumitomo Corporation, ING Sustainable Investments, Mandala Capital, Nutrition Technologies said in a statement.
It also saw continued participation from existing investors Openspace Ventures, SEEDs Capital and Hera Capital. The round was advised by ING Corporate Finance.
The proceeds will be used to fund an expansion into new markets; launch new products; accelerate research and development (R&D); and create new strategic partnerships.
“We are increasing production to meet market demand and providing essential ingredients to the domestic agricultural sector as well as boosting exports through shipping our products to Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and Chile,
“We will also commence shipments to the United Kingdom and European Union very soon,” said Nick Piggott, Co- Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Nutrition Technologies.
Nutrition Technologies will use these funds to further expand production capacity both at its current operating plant in Malaysia as well as through a new joint-venture project in a soon-to-be-announced second country in Southeast Asia.
The company also intends to expand its R&D capabilities in Singapore; commence commercial activities in the United Kingdom and European Union; and add several new patents to its existing IP portfolio.
“We have had some incredibly exciting breakthroughs over the past two years. Following successful additions to our patent portfolio, we will launch two new
revolutionary biological products to the fertiliser market that will address some of the region’s greatest challenges in crop productivity.” said Martin Zorrilla, Nutrition Technologies.
Nutrition Technologies is a biotech company headquartered in Singapore and operating in Malaysia on a mission to address global food security.
Founded in 2015 by two British entrepreneurs, Nick Piggott and Tom Berry, the company manufactures sustainable animal feed ingredients and biofertilisers, using a unique combination of biotechnology and black soldier fly larvae to recycle nutrients from agricultural and food processing by- products.
In 2021 the company scaled-up to industrial production with the launch of its two-hectare factory in Johor, Malaysia. It is now a step further on its path towards developing a sustainable circular economy within the agricultural sector.
Since 2015, Nutrition Technologies, has been creating a commercial replica of the natural decomposition process, using their proprietary growth inoculants and black soldier flies (Hermetia illucens) to turn low-grade crop and food waste into highly sought after animal feed ingredients and biofertilisers.
Their two hectare production facility in Johor, Malaysia, bioconverts several hundreds of tonnes of organic waste every week.
The facility produces functional proteins and oils, which have bioactive compounds that efficiently improve animal growth performance and health outcomes.
Over the past few years, Nutrition Technologies has conducted multiple trials of their products on fish, shrimp, poultry, piglets and pets, with significant results.
Their novel biofertiliser products improve soil health while naturally increasing plant resistance to disease, reducing the need for chemical pesticides.
The 165-strong team has been scaling up their operations and selling their products into both domestic and regional markets.
Nutrition Technologies’ production facilities are a result of over seven years of R&D and their strategic location in the tropics helps to optimise productivity and lower costs.
Their proprietary technologies and vertical insect production system are designed to capitalise on the low-energy benefits and suitability of a tropical climate.
Their team developed the entire production system, which uses some bespoke automated equipment to ensure strict biosafety, zero-waste and strong unit economics.
Through avoided emissions, their products have great potential to help meet global climate change targets.
Nutrition Technologies has been doubling down on its success in commercialising insect-microbe systems and their approach to protecting that intellectual property has been lauded by IP experts and publications.
“We believe our technological developments can help address some of the world’s most critical problems and are highly motivated to accelerate expansion as quickly as possible,
“Our novel microbiology solution to insect production allows us to use a wide pool of raw materials which negates the most significant barrier to scaling.” said Charlie Carter, Chief Operating Officer of Nutrition Technologies.
Nutrition Technologies Chief Financial Officer Richard Hayler said insects represent a virtually unlimited and untapped pool of biological assets, with huge opportunities for value creation.
“Tackling food security is only the tip of the iceberg and with our strengthened balance sheet, great partners and best in class IP, we are strategically positioned to lead the next agricultural revolution,” he added.
PTT Public Company Limited Innovation and New Ventures Senior Executive Vice President Dr. Buranin Rattanasombat said commercial insect protein production is one of the most important innovations of the past few years, with the potential to disrupt the animal feed and fertiliser sectors and solve multiple issues the world is currently facing.
“Furthermore, we expect this partnership will provide customers with innovative solutions to revolutionise the agriculture sector as well as improve people’s quality of life,” he added.
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