Rich Products Ventures Invests in Israeli Food Colorants Biotech Startup

Nov. 11, 2024

The venture capital arm of Rich Products will study use of Phytolon’s colorants — made via precision fermentation — in several of its products after making an investment in the company.

Andy Hanacek

The corporate venture capital arm of Rich Products — Rich Products Ventures (RPV) — has made an investment in Israeli biotech and food tech startup Phytolon, which produces natural food colors using precision fermentation, according to a release.

The investment includes an agreement that Rich’s will explore the company’s proprietary color offerings in several of its products in a mutually non-exclusive manner, the release noted. It is expected that this deal — along with support from existing shareholders in Phytolon — will help drive commercialization and scale-up of Phytolon’s natural, precision-fermented food colorants.

The release noted that the food colorants are expected to pass key regulatory approvals “soon,” though it didn’t mention which regulations and nations. The portfolio uses proprietary yeast strains to create the natural colorants, which can provide a wide range of shades, including purple, pink, red, orange and yellow. Rich’s will utilize and study the colorants to determine how they might be used in its portfolio of icings, toppings, baked goods and more.

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.