Cultimate Foods, a Berlin and Hannover-based biotech startup, has successfully completed a seed funding round of €2.3 million, marking a new chapter in its journey to enhance the plant-based meat industry. The funding is geared toward scaling production processes, broadening commercial partnerships, and expanding operations.
The investment, led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), with additional support from Life Science Valley Wachstumsfonds, b.value AG, Kale United, and global Foodtech investor Big Idea Ventures, underpins a growing confidence in the potential of alternative fats to revolutionize the taste and sustainability of plant-based meats.
Despite the variety of plant-based meats in the market, consumer hesitancy often boils down to taste. Cultimate Foods addresses this hurdle by developing a fat ingredient that promises to deliver the authentic flavors and textures associated with traditional meat, a key to unlocking broader consumer acceptance.
As a B2B partner, Cultimate Foods offers its cell-cultivated premium fat to industry players, enhancing the sensory experience of plant-based products. This innovative approach has already seen successful commercial pilots with food industry leaders, showcasing its potential for widespread application.
From Foundations to Future Growth
Cultimate Foods has rapidly progressed from its roots at Göttingen's Life Science Factory, where the well-equipped laboratories enabled an auspicious start after an initial pre-seed funding round. The company's trajectory since then has been marked by notable achievements and strategic partnerships with academia and industry.
Eugenia Sagué, Co-Founder and Managing Director, emphasized the role of science in delivering desirable food options with reduced environmental impact. HTGF’s Investment Manager, Tilmann Petersen, expresses excitement about the new investment vertical and Cultimate's potential impact in the food industry.
Caroline Mak, Senior Director at Big Idea Ventures, reflects on the company's growth and the critical role of fat innovation in enhancing the palatability and sustainability of plant-based foods.
With the seed round closed, Co-Founder and Managing Director George Zheleznyi highlights the validation of Cultimate's technology and team efforts. The backing of experienced Biotech and Foodtech funds equips the startup with a wealth of expertise to progress to higher Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) and venture into market debut.
“Closing the seed round in today’s fundraising environment validates the achievements of our technological approach and the efforts of our team. With a consortium of experienced Biotech and Foodtech funds on board, we look forward to benefit from both areas of expertise when scaling up to the next TRL and entering our first markets,” said George Zheleznyi, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Cultimate Foods.