Brevel, a microalgae-based, alternative protein company, raised $8.4M in a seed funding round. The funding will be used to build a commercial pilot factory to serve as the basis for scaling Brevel’s proprietary technology and enhancing R&D capabilities.
Investors include FoodHack, Good Startup VC, Tet Ventures and Nevateam Ventures among other prominent names from the food tech industry. The round also includes funding from the EU’s Horizon2020 program and Israel’s Innovation Authority in the form of non-dilutive grants.
Founded in 2017, Brevel is working to solve today’s nutrition challenges by providing sustainable, color and flavor neutral, plant-based protein. Brevel says their technology is the first to combine sugar-based fermentation of microalgae with a high concentration of light at industrial scales. The result is a protein that will be price competitive with pea and soy and is color and flavor neutral.
Brevel’s protein addresses challenges in plant-based dairy and egg products that lack a valuable nutritional profile due to the need for very mildly flavored protein sources. “As early as Q4 Brevel will be providing a truly sustainable solution which is not only tasty and blends perfectly into different food applications to increase their nutritional value but is also at an affordable cost,” said Yonatan Golan, CEO and Co-Founder of Brevel.
The company’s technology is based on high-tech indoor, sterile and fully automated systems which are illuminated from within at high intensity. The unique process enables the production of microalgae at a cost reduction of more than 90% and includes nutrient rich ingredients and functionalities that are only produced in the presence of light.
With the closing of their seed funding round, Brevel will move to the next stage of mass production. “Brevel’s scalable solution has the potential to help millions of people around the world eat dairy-free products that have excellent nutritional values at the right price,” said Arman Anaturk, CEO and Co-Founder of FoodHack.
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