Phytolon Secures Investment from Rich Products Ventures to Help Bring Natural Replacement for Synthetic Food Dyes to Market

YOKNE'AM ILLIT, Israel — Phytolon, an Israeli biotech/food tech startup that produces natural food colors using precision fermentation, recently secured an investment from Rich Products Ventures (RPV), the corporate venture capital fund of global, family-owned food company Rich Products (Rich's), to help drive commercialization of its sustainable, clean-label solution for natural food colorings. As part of the investment, Rich's will explore Phytolon's proprietary color offerings in several of its products in a mutually non-exclusive manner.

RPV's strategic investment has been paired with additional support from existing Phytolon shareholders, including EIT-Food, Arkin Holdings and Yossi Ackerman. The funds will be used to further commercialize and scale Phytolon's natural, precision fermented food colorants, which are expected to pass key regulatory approvals soon, said the company.

Phytolon's co-founder and CTO Tal Zeltzer said, "We are excited to be empowered by Rich Products Ventures as partners in promoting our innovative products in the food industry. Rich's investment and commercial partnership are key to establishing a strong footprint in bakery, desserts and related segments, where solutions for natural colors are in high demand."

Produced utilizing the fermentation of Phytolon's proprietary yeast strains, Phytolon's natural colors offer a sustainable substitution to synthetic food dyes. Beginning with two base colors derived from fermentation, Phytolon's portfolio provides a full range of color shades, including purple, pink, red, orange and yellow.

As part of this strategic investment, Rich's will explore Phytolon's clean-label and eco-friendly solutions in several of its products to understand how the natural colors can potentially be applied to Rich's portfolio of icings, toppings, baked goods and more.

"Innovation is at the core of both Rich's and RPV," said Dinsh Guzdar, managing director, Rich Products Ventures. "At RPV, we're investing in venture and growth stage companies that are shaping the future of food through technology and innovation. Sustainable food production is a key area of focus for us, so we're excited about the cutting-edge work Phytolon is leading and the opportunity that presents Rich's to create greater value for our customers."