November 2, 2020

By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media

Crop biotech and food innovation company Benson Hill has raised $150 million through a Series D co-led by Wheatsheaf and GV.

The company’s business model and global potential to improve health and well-being attracted a diverse range of new and existing investors to this round, including Argonautic Ventures, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), Emart, GS Group, Louis Dreyfus Company, iSelect Fund, Fall Line Capital, Mercury Fund, Prelude Ventures, Prolog Ventures, S2G Ventures, and other strategic and family offices.

Benson Hill leverages Cloud Biology®, or the combination of data science, machine learning, AI techniques, biology, and genomics to unlock nature’s genetic diversity in plants to create varieties that are healthier and more functional than what currently exist.

“We are excited to contribute to the scale-up of Benson Hill’s work to advance a sustainable future of food by realizing the value creation potential of technology-enabled innovation,” said Max Clegg, head of Louis Dreyfus Company’s corporate VC arm, LDC Innovations. “The power of genomics and genetic diversity is largely untapped, and we believe that the company’s technology and collaborative model unlocks efficiencies and new product differentiation for stakeholders across the value chain, from farmers to end-consumers.”

The company manifests this through CropOS™, its platform that uses proprietary phenotyping, predictive breeding, and environmental modeling algorithms to make Cloud Biology® actionable, and together with collaborations fosters the accelerated and precise development of more sustainable feed, food, and ingredient options for consumers, and stronger crops for farmers.

This innovative ability will also allow manufacturers to eliminate costly, inefficient, and water-intensive steps from processing methods across the food, animal feed, and aquaculture industries.

In March of this year Benson Hill announced its plans to release new ultra-high protein soybean varieties for the 2021 season that will be the first commercially available soybeans to effectively replace soy protein concentrate via traditional soybean crushing. 

“The natural genetic diversity of plants is one of the most powerful sources of product differentiation for companies driving the modern food system,” said Matt Crisp, CEO, Benson Hill in March. “Our Ultra-High Protein portfolio and channel capabilities enable Benson Hill to meet customers where they are and empower innovators with cost-effective, scalable solutions.”

The launch of the varieties, which offer better digestibility, heart-healthy omega fatty acids, and higher protein that serve the plant-based food, healthy oils, animal feed and aquaculture markets., were developed using traditional breeding methods, allowing non-GMO certification and unrestricted use in the U.S. and export markets such as the EU – will be conducted through the company’s Benson Hill Seeds division, launched in December 2019.

“The plant-based protein movement is global in scale,” said Hewie Kang, CEO, Emart, Shinsegae Group. “Benson Hill’s product innovations, particularly in the area of protein and nutrient density, are poised to help further accelerate the adoption of plant-based alternatives. Our investment reflects a strategic intent to help realize the vision of delivering a steady stream of more sustainable and healthy food options to a global consumer.”

With this new capital, Benson Hill will continue to advance its Cloud Biology® and its innovation engine CropOS™ capabilities; power its partner development efforts; continue its recruitment plans; and drive the commercial launch of its ultra-high protein soybeans as well as other innovative products in 2021.

Forecasts state that global protein consumption is expected to climb at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.7 percent, reaching 943 million tons by 2054, according to Lux Research. Of this, less than 1 percent is currently derived from non-animal sources, however, experts, including the UN FAO, predict that demand for non-animal-based protein has the potential to account for between 10 and 20 percent of growing demand, which would translate to the need for as much as 200 million tons of plant protein per year. 

This wave of preference for plant-based proteins by consumers, combined with a deepening knowledge about the food supply chain, has resulted in consumers not only wanting more plant-based proteins in their own diets, but looking for certain attributes in the diet of the chickens that lay their eggs, and the livestock that are raised for consumption. These shifts are opening a widow for disruption for businesses like Benson Hill Seeds that have the detailed technology to meet these demands.

“As a society, we’re at a crossroads made more evident as the pandemic has revealed strengths and vulnerabilities in our food system,” said Matt Crisp, CEO, Benson Hill.

“Food choices that create enjoyment, make us stronger, and help preserve our environment need to be accessible to everyone, and the power of plant diversity and technology innovation can help fuel that evolution,” continued Crisp. “We’re grateful for the growing coalition of investors, stakeholders, farmers and partners who recognize the urgency and opportunity of this moment to think collaboratively and modernize food production.”

– 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, and HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She is also a contributor to the GAI Gazette. She can be reached at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.