Cultimate Foods receives €2.3 million in seed financing from leading biotech and foodtech investors to revolutionise the alternative meat industry
BERLIN, 22 April 2024 – Cultimate Foods, a biotech start-up based at the Biocube in Berlin and in Hanover (Institute of Technical Chemistry, Leibniz University Hannover), has successfully closed its seed round in order to scale its production processes and expand its commercial partnerships and operations.
The €2.3 million financing round was led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), one of Europe’s leading seed investors. Alongside HTGF, the Life Science Valley Wachstumsfonds, b.value AG and Kale United took part. Big Idea Ventures, the start-up’s US-based pre-seed investor, also participated in this round.
Cultimate Foods has developed an alternative fat that gives plant-based meat substitutes an authentic taste. Although supermarket shelves are full of plant-based alternatives, taste is still the main factor that keeps consumers from choosing these sustainable products. As a B2B partner, Cultimate Foods supplies cell-cultivated premium fats to the alternative meat industry to solve this problem. The company has already carried out several commercial pilot projects with leading companies in the food industry.
Cultimate Foods took its first steps in Göttingen at the Life Science Factory, where it was able to get its research off the ground in excellently equipped labs straight after its pre-seed round.
“Science is the key to solving many of the food industry’s problems. With innovative technologies, we can deliver the meat flavour that consumers want while curbing unethical factory farming and combating climate change by reducing CO2 emissions. Follow your passion and make the world a better place,” says Eugenia Sagué, co-founder and CEO of Cultimate Foods.
“Cultimate Foods has achieved important milestones in a short space of time, built strong relationships with the foodtech industry and entered into partnerships with universities. HTGF is delighted to open up a new field of investment and to support Cultimate Foods in revolutionising the alternative meat industry with its cell-cultivated fat ingredient. We have the opportunity to make a real difference in the food industry,” says Tilmann Petersen, Investment Manager at HTGF.
Caroline Mak, Senior Director at Big Idea Ventures, comments: “As one of the most active investors in agrifood technology, we see innovation in fats as crucial to improving the taste, health profile, sustainability and scalability of sustainable foods. As early pre-seed investors in Cultimate who have watched the team develop, we are pleased to continue supporting Cultimate in this successful seed round as it brings its innovative fat ingredient to market.”
“Closing the seed round in today’s fundraising environment confirms the success of our technological approach and the efforts of our team. With a consortium of experienced biotech and foodtech funds on board, we look forward to benefiting from both areas of expertise as we scale to the next TRL and enter our first markets,” says George Zheleznyi, co-founder and CEO of Cultimate Foods.
About Cultimate Foods
Cultimate Foods is a cellular agriculture company that produces alternative fat for plant-based meat products. Unlike other fat alternatives, the company creates a unique lipid composition of the fat that delivers an authentic pork and beef flavour. The company has raised more than €3 million to date and is backed by the strong life science investors HTGF, b.value AG and Life Science Valley Wachstumsfonds, as well as the largest foodtech funds Big Idea Ventures, ProVeg International and Kale United.
About High-Tech Gründerfonds
The seed investor High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) finances technology start-ups with growth potential and has supported more than 700 start-ups since 2005. With the launch of its fourth fund, HTGF has around €1.4 billion under management. The team of experienced investment managers and start-up experts supports the young companies with know-how, entrepreneurial spirit and passion. The focus is on high-tech start-ups in the fields of digital tech, industrial tech, life sciences, chemistry and related business areas. To date, external investors have invested around €5 billion in the HTGF portfolio in more than 2,000 follow-on financing rounds. In addition, the fund has already successfully sold its stakes in more than 180 companies.
The fund investors in this public-private partnership include the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, KfW Capital and 45 companies from a wide range of industries.
About the Life Science Valley Wachstumsfonds
The early-stage fund for life science technology spin-offs in Lower Saxony aims to harness the local commercial and entrepreneurial potential arising from excellent life science research and technologies. It supports companies in biotechnology, medical technology, digital health, agricultural science and food technology and promotes successful company formation in technological growth areas.
About b.value AG
b.value AG invests in deep-tech start-ups that combine exceptional founder personalities with groundbreaking technologies and offer solutions for a sustainable world of tomorrow. Its in-depth technological expertise and many years of operational experience in building and running biotech and high-tech companies enable b.value AG to identify the most promising deep-tech start-ups and support them financially and strategically so that they can realise their full potential. Its unique structure and experience allow b.value AG to act both flexibly and with a long-term perspective.
About Big Idea Ventures
Big Idea Ventures is a world-leading investment company in food technology, agricultural technology and materials science. We specialise in investing in the world’s most innovative and sustainable technology companies. We combine capital and partnerships to drive economic growth and build new food ecosystems. By founding and supporting groundbreaking companies, we aim to reduce the climate impact of food production and feed the world sustainably. Big Idea Ventures has teams in New York, Paris and Singapore and has invested in more than 110 companies in 30 countries.
About Kale United
Kale United is a listed holding company that invests in groundbreaking plant-based and food technology companies. Its goal is to maximise impact while increasing financial returns.
Read the press release (HTGF, German) (opens in a new window)