Michroma, a leading precision fermentation food ingredient company, announced today that it has closed a $6.4 million seed financing round. The funding will help Michroma accelerate the commercialization of sustainable natural colorants, expand research and development capabilities, and broaden its ingredient platform. Petroleum, the base ingredient in most mainstream colorants, is removed from the food ingredient value chain.
The $6.4 million round was led by Supply Change Capital, a food tech venture capital firm backed by 301 INC, General Mills’ corporate venture capital arm. Be8 Ventures, which is backed by Dr. Oetker, a global food company with operations in over 40 countries, and CJ CheilJedang, a $23 billion Korean conglomerate that is the world’s leading supplier of fermentation-based bio-products, are among the new investors.
Michroma, which was founded in 2019, pioneered the movement toward a disruptive advance in the ingredients industry by producing high-performance colorants from fungi using precision fermentation. Michroma began by developing a novel red colorant called Red+, which is temperature-resistant and stable across the entire food pH spectrum, in response to rising market demand for healthier and more sustainable ingredients.
These properties enable colors to withstand processes such as pasteurization, cooking, and extrusion, which are among the most intensive for natural dyes. The company’s product pipeline begins with warm colors, which account for 90% of the food market, and progresses to include other colors and novel flavors that will be sold in combination, allowing companies to offer integrated solutions.
FEN Ventures, Boro Capital, The Mills Fabrica, Portfolia’s Food & Ag Tech Fund, New Luna Ventures, Siddhi Capital, Groundswell Ventures, and HackCapital are among the new investors in Michroma, as are Angel investors Allen Miner, Jun Ueki, and Steve Zurcher from the Keiretsu Japan Forum, Guillermo Rosental, Franco Goytia, Pablo Pla, and Mat Travizano. SOSV’s IndieBio and GRIDX are among the existing investors in the round.
