May 24, 2021

By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media

California-based agriculture and food company Terviva announced it has raised $54 million in funding to develop and commercialize new-to-market sustainable culinary oil and plant protein from the pongamia tree. Before the close of this quarter, the company expects to raise an additional $24 million in equity and debt capital, for a total raise of $78 million to drive expansion. 

This latest funding was led by prominent sustainable ag and food investors including Astera Institute; Evans Properties; Trustbridge Partners; The Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust; Ron Edwards, co-founder SoBe and Blue Buffalo Pet Food; Landis Becker Young and Brace Young, chair of Social Finance; former CEO of The Nature Conservancy Mark Tercek; executive chair of Blue Bottle Coffee, Bryan Meehan; Brent Magid, CEO of global consulting firm Magid; and Howard Fischer, founder of Gratitude Railroad.

Once planted, the pongamia tree will begin to flower around year three or four, will be ready for commercial harvest around year five, and will have a productive lifespan of about 50 years. The trees produce a legume related to lentils, pea, and beans that has been harvested for medicinal uses for more than 1,000 years. Terviva is the first company to make the protein and vegetable oils derived from the pongamia accessible for food applications by using proprietary methods to remove anti-nutritional factors during processing.

As a plant-based protein, pongamia holds potential to be a replacement for soy, offering six times the yield of soybeans and strong gelling and emulsification properties, producing an oil is similar to high-oleic acid vegetable oils. When ready, harvesting is carried out with mechanical tree shakers, and processing is done with peanut shellers and soybean crushers, making it a low CAPEX activity.

“Terviva’s pongamia-based food ingredients broaden access to healthy and environmentally sustainable foods that directly combat climate change,” said Naveen Sikka, co-founder and CEO, Terviva. “With our food ingredients, we can feed the planet and heal it at the same time.”

Terviva works with farmers to plant pongamia trees on idle former citrus land in Florida; on former sugarcane land in Hawaii; and in Australia and India on land that is often left fallow due to poor soil conditions or lack of water. Even on this marginal land, a pongamia orchard captures 115 metric tons of carbon per acre over 30 years, making it one of the most sustainable sources of edible oil and plant protein. 

“Consumption of plant-based proteins and oils is growing rapidly, but the amount of arable land to grow these crops is increasingly limited,” said Naveen Sikka, founder and CEO of Terviva in 2019. “We’ve developed a sustainable, market-driven approach for farmers to profit off marginal land by cultivating trees that can feed the planet.”

Using natural, proprietary food processing methods, Terviva creates a golden-colored, buttery cooking oil and highly soluble plant protein from the beans of these trees, which is far more sustainable compared to other oilseed crops such as soy or palm oil.

“We need environmentally friendly approaches to feed the world’s rising population,” said Brace Young, new Terviva board member. “We can work with nature to reduce carbon emissions and produce more nutritious food, and Terviva is a prime example of such an opportunity.”

New Foods Collab

Concurrently with this financial backing, Terviva has also announced the formation of a new collaboration with Danone, targeting cooperation by the two companies to develop new food products that utilize pongamia oil and pongamia plant protein.

This partnership reflects the common vision of Terviva and Danone to improve the environmental footprint of food production by supporting regenerative agriculture and farming practices that improve soil health, water quality, biodiversity, as well as social and market outcomes.

“We believe that healthy foods need a healthy planet with thriving ecosystems and strong, resilient social structures,” said Merijn Dols, global director of open innovation & circular economy for food, Danone. “This is why we are excited to team up with Terviva to co-develop important ingredients – edible protein and oil – from the pongamia tree, while also rehabilitating the soil the tree grows in.”

Supporting this endeavor is San Francisco-based global innovation platform MISTA – an organization founded on the mission to transform the global food system to meet future needs by fostering collaborations between the world’s largest food, ingredient, and tech players with cutting edge, early-stage innovators.

“The collaboration between Terviva and Danone brings to life a truly transformational, regenerative food solution,” said Scott May, head of MISTA. “We’re proud to have made this collaboration possible and to satisfy consumers’ appetites for plant-based foods that are nutritious and sustainable for people and the planet.”

Future Plans

Terviva has recently formed an impressive advisory board that has provided extensive guidance to the company regarding its commercial goals, which include the opening of a U.S. facility in 2022. Currently, the board consists of three members:

~Vijay Advani, chairman of the US-India Business Council and former executive Chair of Nuveen;

~Joe Light, 30-year veteran of the food industry who recently retired from Ingredion as senior vice president for Innovation;

~ And Ann M. Veneman, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (2001-2005), executive director, UNICEF (2005-2010), and board of directors, Nestlé (2011-Present). 

“Among the greatest global challenges is feeding the world’s rising population sustainably and fairly,” said Veneman, former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. “Terviva’s innovations are expanding the options to create healthy, sustainable and accessible foods.”

– Lynda Kiernan is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She can be reached at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.