Investee Company Update: Clean Food Group

RNS Number : 5862I

Agronomics Limited

05 December 2022

 

Agronomics Limited

("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 , the venture arm of Doehler Group GmbH ("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 , 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

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

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

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/ .

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 Limited	Beaumont Cornish Limited	Canaccord Genuity Limited	Cenkos Securities Plc	Peterhouse Capital Limited	TB Cardew
The Company	Nomad	Joint Broker	Joint Broker	Joint Broker	Public Relations
Richard Reed Denham Eke	Roland Cornish James Biddle	Andrew Potts Harry Rees Alex Aylen  (Head of Equities)	Giles Balleny Max Gould Michael Johnson	Lucy Williams Charles Goodfellow	Ed Orlebar Alistair Walker
[phone] [e-mail]	[phone]	[phone]	[phone]	[phone]	[phone] [phone] [e-mail]

 

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