Natural Food Colorant Developer Phytolon Raises $14.5M

Phyloton, an Israeli startup that develops natural food colorants, has secured $14.5 million in Series A funding.

The Series A funding round was led by DSM Venturing, the corporate venture arm of Royal DSM, a Dutch multinational corporation. New investors Cibus Fund and Ginkgo Bioworks also contributed to the funding round. These investors were supplemented by Phytolon’s existing shareholders, Arkin Holdings, Millennium Foodtech, Trendlines Group, Stern Tech, and OpenValley founder Yossi Ackerman in the funding round. Trendlines Agrifood Fund also took part in the fundraising efforts, offering foundry services as an ‘in-kind’ investment, according to AgFunder News.

Phytolon was founded in 2018 by co-founders Halim Jubran and Tal Zeltzer, who both have backgrounds in biotechnology. The company’s technology, licensed from Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science, provides an alternative to synthetic dyes commonly used in foods and beverages globally. Unique to other natural food-coloring products (which normally stem from fruits and vegetables), Phytolon’s products come from betalain pigments derived from yeast fermentation. Phytolon’s natural food-coloring technology produces a range of natural colors to be used in a range of foods, including dairy, frozen products, snacks, alternative meats, and baked goods. 

Phytolon is working to develop natural food-coloring products through yeast fermentation. The company plans to use the newly acquired funding to scale up its production and commercialization efforts, with a goal of market entry in 2023 (pending regulatory approval). Phytolon plans to bring its products, first, to US and European markets. Europe is home to the greatest demand for natural food-coloring products.  

The funding round comes during a period of growth for the global natural food colors industry. The industry, previously valued at $5 billion in 2020, is projected to be valued at $6.8 billion by 2025, AgFunder reports.

The industry’s growth is driven by the global consumer desire for clean label products and increased consumer awareness. With artificial food dyes like Red40 posing potential health concerns and allergy threats, the need for natural food colorants is felt by markets worldwide.

Phyloton is currently exploring market entry options.