Dutch-based Cosun and Oost NL back foodtech startup revyve for a sustainable food system

Dutch and Swiss-based revyve, a company that produces simple, sustainable ingredients from circularly sourced microbial biomass like brewer’s yeast, announced that it has secured €8M in funding.

The investment came from Cosun and Oost NL, to help revyve promote the development and manufacturing of sustainable, upcycled, and local ingredients from food industry byproducts.

Oost NL invests through the Perspectieffonds Gelderland (PFG), a fund established by the province of Gelderland to accelerate the innovative capacity of major social challenges such as energy transition, climate adaptation, circular economy, biodiversity, accessibility, economic business climate, and residential and living environment. 

Oscar Elderink, investment manager of Perspectieffonds Gelderland at Oost NL, says “The Wageningen ecosystem is a hotspot for food innovation on the way to a sustainable and healthy food system.”

“We are proud that with the investment from Perspectieffonds Gelderland, revyve can take steps in the development and production of sustainable and local food ingredients.”

Unlocking the Future of Food

Founded by Corjan van den Berg and Edgar Suarez Garcia, revyve produces “cruelty-free” food ingredients using natural microorganisms and has developed a scalable technology for extracting “unique” ingredients from microbial biomass such as brewer’s yeast.

revyve uses its technology to generate protein and fibre ingredients from brewer’s yeast, a byproduct of beer brewing. These recycled materials have a minimal carbon impact and can be used in place of animal proteins and E numbers (like methylcellulose).

Because of their adaptability and utility, these ingredients can be utilised in a variety of foods, including meat alternatives, pasta, bread items, sauces, and snacks. Revyve is attempting to increase manufacturing capacity to more than 100 tonnes per year.

In a company statement translated from Dutch, Cedric Verstraeten, CEO of revyve, says, “Until now, food manufacturers have depended on animal ingredients and E numbers to create texture in many meat substitute products.”

“A unique process has been developed within revyve, which allows high-quality functional ingredients to be produced from brewer’s yeast. These ingredients have a strong gelling and emulsifying effect, allowing us to offer a more sustainable, attractive and clean-label (no more E numbers on the label) alternative for food manufacturers.”

“We are very pleased with our collaboration with Oost NL and Cosun Protein and look forward to working with them on a better and more sustainable food system.”

Strategic collaboration with Cosun

Cosun, a division of Royal Cosun, aims to facilitate the research and production of new plant-based food. The firm produces neutral-tasting, highly soluble vegetable proteins derived from field beans (Tendra) that are appropriate for a range of food and beverage applications.

revyve’s upcycled ingredients provide food producers with clean-label options while reducing the carbon footprint of food production.

This aligns with Cosun’s Unlock25 strategy, which focuses on growth in green and health-promoting ingredients, upgrading co-products, and developing a future-proof and sustainable food chain.

Thijs Bosch, director of Cosun Protein, says, “This investment is fully in line with Cosun’s strategy and sustainability agenda and our ambitions in the field of alternative proteins.”

“We look forward to further deepening our partnership with revyve and leveraging our knowledge and expertise as a producer of plant-based protein and other functional ingredients to create sustainable ingredients for the future together.”