Deal focus: From space food to sustainable food

The temperature of the hot springs in Yellowstone National Park runs as high as 100 degrees Celsius, but some microorganisms can take the heat. Scientific study of these extremophiles formed the basis for Sustainable Bioproducts, which specializes in growing edible protein. It recently secured $33 million in Series A funding to push towards commercialization.

The company wasn’t initially focused on feeding the masses, at least not those on a terrestrial plane. NASA provided early funding based on Sustainable Bioproducts developing a bioreactor “that will efficiently convert mission relevant feedstocks [human waste, food waste, plant materials] to usable products under zero gravity conditions.” 

The arrival of CEO Thomas Jonas in 2014 coincided with the core fermentation technology becoming economic and scalable. Since then, the team has taken the extremophiles research and applied it to a broader range of organisms, envisaging more end-use scenarios. 

It was enough to convince cross-border PE firm 1955 Capital to lead the Series A. Other participants include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which is backed by the likes of Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Jack Ma, among others, the venture investing arms of food and agribusiness giants Danone and Archer Daniels Midland, and several family offices.

“Sustainable Bioproducts is one of the few companies we have seen that has been able to produce a complete protein containing all these special amino acids. Even if you stop there, it’s important: a sustainable protein developed in an efficient way that doesn’t require plants or animals,” says Andrew Chung, a managing partner at 1955 Capital. “But they have also translated the protein into a range of food applications in a short period of time.”

Chung invested in several sustainable food companies in his previous role at Khosla Ventures. Most players in the space recreate the functionality of meat using naturally occurring plant-based products or they replicate it by cultivating stem cells from animals. Sustainable Bioproducts, thanks to its different origins, occupies a new category. It is seen as having broader applications than plant-based solutions and being more scalable than stem cell technology.

It remains to be seen what form the fully commercialized product takes, but it might be more than one. Sustainable Bioproducts could provide in ingredients to other food companies, develop its own branded products, or collaborate with traditional industry players to make existing products more sustainable. Indeed, end-uses could vary by market, which could make it well suited to Asian expansion.

“Every geography in Asia has a different food supply issue, a different agricultural safety issue, and a different set of players embedded in the food products markets. When you have a versatile product platform, you can come up with an optimal strategy for each market.”   

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