HELSINKI, Finland – Paulig’s venture arm PINC has invested in the Danish startup EvodiaBio, a bio-industrial company that aims to reinvent the production of natural aromas for a more sustainable world. The investment supports Paulig’s aim to develop a food culture that enables the well-being of people and the planet. EvodiaBio will now prepare for its first market launch of natural hop aromas to be used in non-alcoholic beer.
Today, vast areas of land are used to cultivate plants only to extract aromas, something that requires large resources of water and agricultural inputs. The molecules of interest, such as the ones in hops, are often present in such low amounts that you need many plants to extract a few milligrams.
EvodiaBio has developed a ground-breaking solution where they re-invent aromatic compounds and eliminate the need for extracting aromas from plants. By using a yeast precision fermentation process, the company can produce molecules in an efficient way with a very concentrated output. This gives significantly lower costs, waste and storage needs compared to traditional methods.
“The wave of alternative ingredients has only just started, and we are excited to see what this team and technology can do. It has so much potential, not just by saving the planet’s resources but the process also allows for a very promising business case for the customer, says Marika King, Head of PINC. “For Paulig, EvodiaBio is a great match since our mission is ‘For a life full of flavor’ and we are always on the lookout for more sustainable and tasty ingredients.”
The first product range developed and produced by EvodiaBio is Yops™, a more sustainable hop aroma to be used in non-alcoholic beer. The market for non-alcoholic beer is increasing rapidly1 but the majority of the consumers still consider it to be less tasty than regular beers2 3.
“Every brewer of non-alcoholic beer knows the struggle of nailing the right taste. With Yops™ we are making it possible to enjoy great taste without depleting natural resources. We are targeting the brewing industry first, but in the long run we want to revolutionize a wide range of industries, such as the food, perfume, and cosmetics industries. We are providing a scalable way forward and solving a market need for more natural molecules”, says Camilla Kloss Fenneberg, CEO of EvodiaBio.
The investment round of 4 MEUR was led by Nordic Foodtech VC and included the global ingredient company Symrise, Thia Ventures and NewTree Impact in addition to PINC.
Fact box: Yops
Yops™ has a significantly lower environmental footprint compared to traditional production, harvest, and storage of hops. EvodiaBio’s estimates show that the same aroma potential can be achieved using 5 grams of Yops™, produced with 1 liter of water, compared to 10 kg of traditionally produced aroma hops, produced with 27,000 liters of water4. The CO2 emissions for this production is estimated to be 0,56 CO2 compared with 55 CO2.
About PINC
PINC is Paulig’s venture arm for investments in early-stage start-ups in and around the future of food. The objective of PINC is to help Paulig renew itself and prosper as well as contribute to a tastier and more sustainable planet. Paulig is a Finnish food & beverage company with brands such as Paulig coffee, Santa Maria, Risenta and PocoLoco.
About EvodiaBio
EvodiaBio is a bio-industrial company that has developed a cutting-edge and sustainable way of producing natural aromas. Through a patented fermentation process, the company has developed an effective method of producing aromas that are usually lost when producing non-alcoholic beer. The aromas will empower the brewer to conceive the beer’s desired fulness of flavor, consistently and sustainably. EvodiaBio’s goal is to become a global industry leader within cutting-edge aroma development for the food and beverage industry.
