De Novo Foodlabs Secures Funding Led by Industry-Backed VC for Precision-Fermented Lactoferrin Protein

Precision fermentation startup De Novo Foodlabs has raised $1.5M in funding for its NanoFerrin protein in a seed round led by Joyful Ventures, a VC firm backed by alternative protein leaders.

North Carolina-based De Novo Foodlabs, which is making animal-free lactoferrin, has attracted $1.5M in a seed investment round led by California’s Joyful Ventures.

It takes the total capital raised by the precision fermentation startup to $4M, following a $2.5M pre-seed round in 2022. Previous investors include Sustainable Food Ventures, Siddhi Capital, Cult Food Science and Prithvi Capital.

Joyful Ventures is spearheaded by Vegan Women Summit’s Jennifer Stojkovic and the Good Food Institute co-founder Milo Runkle. It was launched last year with a $23M infusion from alternative protein leaders, with advisors and investors like Oatly co-founder Björn Öste, Shiok Meats co-founder Sandhya Sriram, The Every Company CEO Arturo Elizondo, and Wild Earth CEO Ryan Bethencourt.

Being backed by a strong pedigree of investors will help De Novo Foodlabs “go from where we are today to commercialising our product”, co-founder and CEO Jean Louwrens tells Green Queen.

Planet-friendly, animal-free, highly functional

Louwrens established the company alongside CSO Leah Bessa, COO Richard Grieves, and protein R&D lead Joni Symon in 2021, with the aim of creating “rare protein-based functional ingredients” without animals.

De Novo Foodlabs’ first ingredient is NanoFerrin, a precision-fermented version of lactoferrin. The iron-rich whey protein is found in human milk in bovine colostrum produced just after birth, and has a host of functional benefits. It’s crucial for infant development, and offers improved immunity, brain health, iron absorption, and gut health in adults.

Its anti-oxidation, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cellular senescence properties are said to alleviate changes linked to ageing too. But lactoferrin is in short supply – it takes at least 10,000 litres of milk to produce just 1kg of purified lactoferrin, pushing retail prices up to $750-1,500 per kg. This means the protein is used in limited applications, like infant formula (making up 60% of its market) and supplements.

Demand for the protein isn’t subsiding anytime soon – the global market for bovine lactoferrin was valued at $772M last year, and is set to cross $3B in 2033. But apart from the shortage, producing lactoferrin is not sustainable, given it is chiefly sourced from cows, a notoriously high GHG emitter.

De Novo Foodlabs – which has offices in Raleigh, North Carolina and Cape Town, South Africa – has previously commissioned an independent life-cycle assessment that shows its NanoFerrin represents 99.9% lower emissions, land use and water consumption.

“We identified a gap in the production of non-bovine-derived lactoferrin, a protein that is critical for human health,” explains Louwrens. “We went to work creating proprietary technology and methods to produce a superior lactoferrin product called NanoFerrin that is non-bovine-derived and could potentially have tremendously positive benefits for human health and the environment.”

De Novo Foodlabs looks to scale up ‘more affordable’ NanoFerrin

The fresh capital would allow De Novo Foodlabs to expand its production capacity (from kgs to tonnes) to meet demand from food, beverage and supplement customers, says Louwrens.

Singapore’s TurtleTree is also making lactoferrin this way – it has earned self-affirmed GRAS status in the US and struck partnerships to sell its lactoferrin (called LF+) in espresso shots as well as a protein powder and an immunity beverage.

“De Novo’s NanoFerrin is differentiated by our proprietary technology and process used for production, as well as our unique business model, which positions us for long-term success,” suggests Louwrens.

In a statement announcing the investment, he said: “NanoFerrin is not only more affordable and eco-friendly; importantly, it also provides a reliable supply source compared to traditional bovine lactoferrin products.”

Expanding on this, the CEO adds: “Precision fermentation allows us to produce NanoFerrin at scale, providing a consistent, controllable supply to customers, which brings the cost down. The current standard relies on inconsistent and costly supply of lactoferrin from cows.”

While Louwrens keeps details about partner brands under wraps, he hopes the investment will open up a larger consumer base for the startup.

Joyful Ventures’ Runkle, who now joins De Novo Foodlabs’ board, said the company’s “advancements in precision fermentation technology and dedication to creating impactful alternatives to high-value animal-derived ingredients pave the way for scalable and profitable industry solutions”.