October 25, 2023

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Currently, the majority of natural food colors are highly dependent on agriculture, being derived from fruits and vegetables. But meeting the ever-growing consumer demand for more natural ingredient lists through the incorporation of food colors derived from fruits and vegetables can be resource-expensive.

But there’s new options coming online. Israel-based Phytolon is a biotech startup addressing the need for healthy, efficient, and – importantly – sustainable, natural food coloring alternatives to synthetic dyes in foods and beverages. 

Using proprietary methodology based on licensed technology from the Weizmann Institute of Science, Phytolon produces betalain pigments through the fermentation of baker’s yeast.

** But wait… What are betalain pigments, you ask?

Betalains are unique water-soluble nitrogen-rich pigments that give some fruits and vegetables a red-violet (betacyanins), or yellow (betaxanthins) color. They are exclusively found in families of the Caryophyllales order and certain higher order fungi, where they replace anthocyanin pigments (which belong to the phenolic group). 

Through its platform, Phytolon offers a wide range of natural colors from yellow to purple that perform on par in performance and at cost-in-use for multiple food categories including alternative meats, dairy, frozen foods, baked goods, confectionery, and snacks.

The striving for the holy grail of a “clean label” to meet demand  is expected to drive the global food colors market, which currently stands at a value of $3.9 billion, to experience a CAGR of 6 percent to reach a value of $5.42 billion by 2025, finds Market Data Forecast. And being able to achieve this goal through innovation and disruption could be highly advantageous. 

“We believe Phytolon is perfectly positioned to create significant value in the food colors space with their advantaged, proprietary technology, and wide range of color options which address rapidly growing requirements for natural,  free-from ingredients by consumers and industry,” said James Cali, NGN. “This is especially important with the movements in regulations related to food colors in California.”

And as the company accelerates its commercial activities toward the first launch of its natural food colors made from fermentation, Phytolon has secured additional funding from Nextgen Nutrition Investment Partners (NGN) and Dunedain Ventures, along with support from two existing investors EIT Food and Phytolon’s chairman Steve Dubin. 

Since closing its $14.5 million Series A in July 2022, Phytolon has achieved significant progress toward commercialization with a signed distribution deal with DSM-Firmenich for its wide range of natural food colors. It has also extended its supply capabilities; established an industrial-scale manufacturing agreement with a CMO; launched an in-house facility for production and supply at a pilot scale; and strengthened its in-house capabilities for developing and scaling natural ingredients through the process of fermentation. 

“Due to the progress that we have made in the last two years, we are gaining more and more trust from top players in the global F&B industry, now perfectly demonstrated by the latest investments,” said Halim Jubran, CEO, Phytolon. “We are excited to welcome our new partners, NGN, and strengthen our partnership with EIT Food and Mr. Steve Dubin, who have played crucial roles in the company’s growth and success.”

“EIT Food recognized Phytolon’s potential from the outset and invested early on,” added Matthias de Kock, senior investment manager, EIT Food. “Today, we’re excited to witness this game-changing innovation in natural food colors unfold and we look forward to supporting Phytolon in its future stages of growth and innovation.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief 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 Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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