Fermentation ingredients company Manus Bio raises $75m in Series B

  • 20 November 2020
  • Foodtech
Lead investor BBGI of Bangkok has formed a joint venture with the US company for manufacturing and distribution in Southeast Asia
Plant-based ingredients
Photo as seen on the website of Manus Bio

Fermentation ingredients company Manus Bio has raised $75 million in Series B financing. The round was led by BBGI Public Company Limited (BBGI), a manufacturer and distributor of bio-based products based in Bangkok, Thailand.

Dr Ajikumar Parayil, chief executive of Manus Bio, founded the company in 2011. Based a Cambridge, Massachusetts, it recreates plant processes in microorganisms to produce natural ingredients through fermentation.

“Our microbial platform has been optimised to convert inexpensive carbon and plant-derived substrates into rare and expensive ingredients with applications as flavours, fragrances, food ingredients, cosmetics, vitamins, pharmaceuticals and agricultural chemicals,” reads a statement on the company website.

The company argues that its technology provides a low-cost, sustainable, and eco-friendly source for many ingredients used in our daily lives.

Natural sweetener

This year, Manus Bio hit the market with flavour ingredient NutraSweet Natural for food and drink formulations. The product is defined as a great-tasting natural, zero-calorie sweetener, which will help reduce sugar consumption and curb the growing rates of obesity and diabetes.

The news comes hot on the heels of a joint venture between Manus Bio and BBGI for the manufacture and distribution of high-value natural ingredients in Southeast Asia.

“We are pleased to join forces with BBGI, which shares our vision of leveraging the power of biology to provide economical and sustainable sourcing of bio-based products around the globe,” said Dr Parayil.

The joint venture will operate as Win Ingredients and will establish additional bio-fermentation manufacturing capacity in Thailand, as well as expand sales and distribution channels in Southeast Asia for a variety of new ingredients.

“By adding a second manufacturing site for many key ingredients, Manus Biounrivalled an unrivaled value proposition to customers by ensuring global supply chain redundancy and stability,” Dr Parayil concluded.

Manus Bio currently operates a manufacturing facility in Augusta, Georgia, and plans to use the cash injection from the Series B to expand capabilities and bring its R&D pipeline to commercialisation.