Powered by fungi: Michroma nets US$6.4M to propel natural colorants free from petroleum

02 Feb 2023 --- Michroma, a precision fermentation food ingredient company, has closed US$6.4 million in seed financing in a move that will see petroleum removed from food colorings. The round is expected to fast-track the company’s commercialization of sustainable natural colorants using fungi, expand R&D capabilities, and broaden Michroma’s ingredient platform.

Supply Change Capital led the US$6.4 million round, a food tech VC backed by 301 INC, the corporate venture capital arm of General Mills. New investors include Be8 Ventures, which is backed by Dr. Oetker, and CJ CheilJedang, a US$23 billion Korean conglomerate and supplier of fermentation-based bio-products.

“We see a compelling market and consumer potential for Michroma’s fungal platform to create next-generation natural ingredients, from colorants to flavors, that are healthier and more sustainable while maximizing production efficiency,” explains Noramay Cadena, Supply Change Capital’s managing director and a Michroma board member. 

“We are excited by the speed and skill with which they build their capabilities. Even more so, in light of the global disruption of supply chains, we believe Michroma is laying the foundation for the sustainable ingredients of the future.”

Meanwhile, Michroma’s CEO and co-founder, Ricky Cassini, says, “we are poised to meet consumer demand for healthier and more sustainable food without petroleum-based ingredients.”

“Unlike the current generation of unstable natural options, like betalains, carminic acid, and anthocyanins, Michroma produces better-performing natural colorants powered by fungi. This next stage of our development will help us industrialize our fungal platform and enable the world’s transition to natural colors.”

Producing food colors efficiently 
The company removes petroleum – the base ingredient in mainstream colorants – from the food ingredient value chain.

Michroma’s novel approach centers on creating fungal biofactories to produce more efficient small molecules, like colors. 

Ingredient biotech start-up Michroma is on track to expand and scale fungal food colors platform.“We are leveraging the power and versatility of filamentous fungi with our synbio platform. By combining a unique fungal chassis strain with precision fermentation, we are capable of producing high-value complex molecules with high yields previously unseen in the biotech industry,” adds Michroma’s CSO and Co-Founder, Dr. Mauricio Braia.

High-performance colorants made from fungi 
Founded in 2019, Michroma pioneered the movement toward a disruptive advance in the ingredients industry with high-performance colorants made from fungi using precision fermentation. 

Fueled by the increasing demand for healthier and more sustainable ingredients, Michroma started by developing a novel red colorant called Red+, which is temperature-resistant and stable across the entire food pH spectrum. 

These characteristics allow colors to survive processes like pasteurization, cooking, and extrusion, which are among the most intensive methods for natural dyes. The company’s product pipeline starts with warm colors, which comprise 90% of the food market. It goes beyond to include other colors and novel flavors that will be sold in combination, allowing for integrated solutions for companies.

Demand for natural colors rises
The US$2.6 billion food colorants market continues to trend toward natural ingredients. 

According to a poll, 92% of people are concerned about artificial colors and large food manufacturers, such as Burger King, Nestlé, Kraft, Mars, General Mills, for example, are transitioning away from artificial colors to meet health-conscious consumers’ demand for natural ingredient alternatives. 

Notably, research has underscored the detrimental effects of artificial colorant consumption, with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment concluding in 2021 that artificial food dyes impact neurobehavior in some children. 

More recently, the US Food and Drug Administration received a petition from The Center for Science in the Public Interest and 23 other organizations and prominent scientists to ban the use of Red No. 3 colorant in food.

Following prototyping with some of the world’s largest food companies, Michroma is negotiating agreements for Red+ with ingredients suppliers for global distribution and will submit color additive petitions to the FDA and EFSA as the company continues its path to scale.

Edited by Elizabeth Green