Dutch-based The Protein Brewery secures €30M to fuel the commercial rollout of fungi-based proteins

Breda, the Netherlands, The Protein Brewery, a company specialised in fungi-based food ingredients, has secured €30M in a Series B round.

The round saw new investors Invest-NL and the Brabant Development Agency (BOM), alongside existing investors Novo Holdings, Unovis Asset Management, and Madeli.

Daan Meijer, Investment Manager at Invest-NL, says, “With its unique fermentation-based solution, The Protein Brewery stands out in the alternative protein space and strengthens the Netherlands’ leadership in food innovation. As a Dutch company driving the protein transition, The Protein Brewery is setting a new standard in sustainability, a vision we are proud to support.”

The announcement comes four years after raising capital in the Series A round.

Fund utilisation

The new funding will enable the company to enhance its sales and application expertise to better support food manufacturers.

The Dutch company will use the funds to commercialise Fermotein in the United States and Europe to promote growth in important market segments.

Additionally, the company will expand production at the Mijkenbroek facility to ensure readiness for large-scale operations.

Lastly, The Protein Brewery aim to develop the Fermotein innovation platform to explore new opportunities in nutrition and product applications.

“This funding is a springboard for global expansion. With Fermotein, we are not just offering another protein – we are redefining how food is made: nutritious, sustainable, and scalable at a lower cost. The Protein Brewery is ready to lead the protein and fibre transition,” says Thijs Bosch, CEO of The Protein Brewery. “We are now entering a defining moment: all building blocks of operation are in place, and we are ready to accelerate.”

The Protein Brewery: Developing nutritious food ingredients

Founded in 2020 and led by Thijs Bosch, The Protein Brewery develops nutritious food ingredients made from fungi.

The company focuses on sustainable food sources using fermentation technologies. It employs various techniques, including molecular biology, fermentation, and analytical methods.

The company’s product — Fermotein is a high-protein, high-fibre ingredient that integrates seamlessly into baked goods & snacks, dairy alternatives like yoghurts and nutritional products like protein shakes, functional bars and meal replacement drinks due to its tasteless and odourless nature.

Easy to scale up

Fermotein’s production process is less costly than many alternative proteins, making it easier to scale up production.

The scalability is primarily due to The Protein Brewery’s unique fungal strain used for mycoprotein.

This patented process requires less investment and enables affordable production, addressing challenges that have affected the growth of alternative proteins.

Fermotein also provides high-quality protein and essential fibres. The Protein Brewery is studying its potential effects on satiety and metabolic health, specifically related to GLP-1 pathways.

The Protein Brewery is launching Fermotein with several customers in the USA in the coming months and is also expanding its business in Singapore.

The commercial team is also preparing for market launch in the EU and UK, which will follow once the regulatory approval is in place.