RCS - Agronomics Limited - Investee Company Update: Clean Food Group

AgronomicsAnnouncement

05/12/2022 09:30

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RNS Number : 5862I  Agronomics Limited  05 December 2022

Agronomics Limited (https://agronomics.im/)

 

("Agronomics" or the "Company")

 

Doehler Ventures Invests in Portfolio Company Clean Food Group to Accelerate
Scale up and Market Approval of Sustainable Palm Oil Alternative

 

Agronomics (ANIC:LSE), the leading listed company focused on the field of
cellular agriculture is pleased to announce that portfolio company Clean Food
Group has received investment from Doehler Ventures
(https://www.doehler-ventures.com/) , the venture arm of Doehler Group
(https://www.doehler.com/en/) GmbH (https://www.doehler.com/en/) ("Doehler"),
a global producer, marketer and provider of technology-based natural
ingredients and ingredient systems for the food and beverage industries. This
strategic partnership will see Doehler support Clean Food Group in the scale
up of their palm oil alternative, produced via a proprietary fermentation
platform which has been developed over the last seven years at the University
of Bath.

Following investments in March 2022 and August 2022
(https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/agronomics/news/rns/story/w6zn0gr)
, Agronomics holds a total of 38,075,000 Ordinary Shares which are carried at
a value of £3,807,500, subject to audit, and an approximate equity stake in
Clean Food Group of 35.03% on a fully diluted basis. The investment by Doehler
has no current impact on this position.

The full announcement is set out below without any material changes.

 

Doehler Ventures invests in food-tech business Clean Food Group to accelerate
scale up and market approval of sustainable Palm Oil Alternative

 

●    Doehler Ventures has made an investment in pioneering food-tech
business Clean Food Group

 

●    Through a further technical collaboration agreement Doehler Group
will provide its industry-leading expertise in production scale up to
accelerate Clean Food Group's technology,

 

●    Clean Food Group's mission is to be part of the solution to the
environmental crisis beginning with the production of its palm oil alternative

 

Today (5(th) December 2022) Clean Food Group - a pioneering UK-based food-tech
business that has developed a revolutionary and sustainable, bioequivalent
alternative to palm oil has announced that it has received investment from
Doehler Ventures, part of the Doehler Group, a global producer, marketer and
provider of technology-driven natural ingredients, ingredient systems and
integrated solutions for the global food, beverage and nutrition industry.

 

As part of an accompanying collaboration agreement between the two companies,
Doehler Group will support the scale up of the Clean Food Group's technology,
demonstrating production at commercial scale as well as manufacturing product
batches required for market approval. The two groups plan to continue the
strategic partnership in the future, as Clean Food Group continues to develop
their category offerings.

 

The revolutionary sustainable palm oil alternative will help reduce the
detrimental environmental impact of a range of palm-based ingredients that can
be found in nearly 50% of all packaged products on our supermarket shelves.
Clean Food Group's mission is to be part of the solution to this environmental
crisis beginning with the production of its palm oil alternative.

 

The global palm oil market was valued at US$ 50.6 billion in 2021 and is
expected to reach US$ 65.5 billion by 2027. However, palm oil production
continues to be a major driver of deforestation of some of the world's most
biodiverse habitats, impacting critically endangered species like the
orangutan, pygmy elephant and Sumatran rhino. This process combined with the
conversion of carbon-rich peat soils, is releasing millions of tonnes of
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.

 

Alex Neves, co-founder and CEO of Clean Food Group says: "We are delighted to
be partnering with Doehler Group, a leading manufacturer and innovator within
the area of technology-driven natural ingredients and ingredient systems.

 

With Doehler Group's support, we are excited to accelerate the scale-up of our
ground-breaking technology, which will allow us to bring our sustainable palm
oil alternative to market more quickly."

 

About Clean Food Group (https://cleanfood.group/)

Clean Food Group is a UK-based food-tech business focused on bringing
sustainable, cultivated foods to market in the UK and Europe. It operates
within the fast-developing cultivated food industry, a market with enormous
opportunities driven by significant environmental, health and animal welfare
concerns about existing and future consumption levels of animal protein and
other foods such as palm oil.

 

Clean Food Group is founded by a team with key experience in growing bio-tech,
food industry and retail businesses supported by established venture capital
and family office investors with a track record supporting fast-growth
start-up companies in highly regulated industries.

 

Clean Food Group is developing a bio-equivalent cultivated alternative to palm
oil. Its foundational technology is a yeast-based alternative that has been
developed over 7 years at the University of Bath by Professor Chris Chuck.

 

About Doehler Group (https://www.doehler.com/en/)

Doehler is a global producer, marketer and provider of technology-driven
natural ingredients, ingredient systems and integrated solutions for the
global food, beverage and nutrition industry. Doehler is all about mastering
multi- sensory performance and nutrition. Being Sustainable by nature(®), we
help to nourish the world better - good for people, good for planet(®).

 

All our ingredients are derived from natural raw materials. Doehler's
comprehensive product portfolio of natural ingredients ranges from natural
flavours, natural colours, natural health ingredients, a broad range of
plant-based ingredients to ingredient systems and end-to-end solutions.
Focused on science, technology and innovation, we shape the future of
nutrition.

 

Our customers are at the heart of all we do and are the reason why we exist.
With more than 45 production sites, 75 offices and application centres,
Doehler creates value for customers in over 160 countries. More than 8,500
dedicated employees, including 1,000 people in R&D and technology, are
committed to making our customers successful.

 

"WE BRING IDEAS TO LIFE." describes Doehler's integrated and entrepreneurial
approach to innovation. This also includes innovation services, market
intelligence, advice on food safety and microbiology, as well as sensory &
consumer science. Doehler also runs its own venture unit with more than 85
active ventures. Smart ideas have a way of becoming great products.

 

Every day, millions of people around the world enjoy products created by
Doehler.

 

About Agronomics (https://agronomics.im/)

Agronomics is a leading listed alternative proteins company with a focus on
cellular agriculture and cultivated meat. The Company has established a
portfolio of 24 companies in this rapidly advancing sector. It seeks to secure
minority stakes in companies owning technologies with defensible intellectual
property that offer new ways of producing food and materials with a focus on
products historically derived from animals. These technologies are driving a
major disruption in agriculture, offering solutions to improve sustainability,
as well as addressing human health, animal welfare and environmental damage.
This disruption will decouple supply chains from the environment and animals,
as well as being fundamental to feeding the world's expanding population. A
full list of Agronomics' portfolio companies is available at
https://agronomics.im/
(https://clicktime.symantec.com/368cVqxx3R6vTFuHpf6MSE66Gi?u=https%3A%2F%2Fagronomics.im%2F)
.

 

About Cellular Agriculture

Cellular Agriculture is the production of agriculture products directly from
cells, as opposed to raising an animal for slaughter, or growing crops. This
encompasses cell culture to produce cultivated meat and materials, and
fermentation processes that harness a combination of molecular biology,
synthetic biology, tissue engineering and biotechnology to massively simplify
production methods in a sustainable manner.

 

Over the coming decades, the source of the world's food supply traditionally
derived from conventional agriculture is going to change dramatically. We have
already witnessed the first wave of this shift with the consumer adoption of
plant-based alternative proteins but today, we are on the cusp of an even
bigger wave of change. This is being facilitated by advances in cellular
agriculture. This change is necessary, given scientists claims that if we
maintain existing animal protein consumption patterns, then we will not meet
the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting warming to 1.5℃.

 

AT Kearney, a global consultancy firm, projects that cultivated meat's market
share will reach 35% by 2040. This combined with the Good Food Institute's
estimate that a US $1.8 trillion investment will be required in order to
produce just 10% of the world's protein using this technology, means that we
are on the cusp of a multi-decade flow of capital to build out manufacturing
facilities. Funding in the field of cellular agriculture is accelerating,
however still less than US$ 5 billion has been invested worldwide since the
industry's inception in 2016.

 

 

For further information please contact:

 Agronomics                                       Beaumont              Canaccord              Cenkos                Peterhouse Capital

 Limited                                          Cornish Limited       Genuity Limited        Securities Plc        Limited               TB Cardew
 The Company                                      Nomad                 Joint Broker           Joint Broker          Joint Broker          Public Relations
 Richard Reed                                     Roland Cornish        Andrew Potts           Giles Balleny         Lucy Williams

 Denham Eke                                       James Biddle          Harry Rees             Max Gould             Charles Goodfellow    Ed Orlebar

                                                                        Alex Aylen             Michael Johnson                             Alistair Walker

                                                                        (Head of Equities)
 +44 (0) 1624 639396                              +44 (0) 207 628 3396                         +44 (0) 207 397 8900  +44 (0) 207 469 0936  +44 (0) 20 7930 0777

 info@agronomics.im (mailto:info@agronomics.im)                         +44 (0) 207 523 8000                                               +44 (0) 7738 724 630

                                                                                                                                           agronomics@tbcardew.com (mailto:agronomics@tbcardew.com)

 

 

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