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Chromologics was spun out of the Technical University of Denmark four years ago. The company aims to supplant animal-based food colorants as well as plant-based sources, which are often expensive.
Participants in Chromologics seed round include Blue Horizon Ventures, Nordics-focused life sciences investor Novo Seeds, and early-stage food tech VC Nordic Food Tech. Angel investor Giampaolo Cagnin also joined the round. The company has previously received funding from Vækstfonden, as well as grants from Novo Nordisk Foundation and the Innovation Foundation Denmark.
“I believe that Chromologics has the potential to drive a significant change in how we think about natural colors,” says Thomas Grotkjær, principal at Novo Seeds.
Chromologics has developed a method of producing natural colourings via a fungal biotech platform that, Co-Founder and CEO Gerit Tolborg says, addresses the ‘main challenges’ in the colourings sector, producing natural colours that are vegan, sustainable and high-performance.
Chromologics: Precision fermentation addresses ‘main challenges’ facing natural colours Chromologics has developed a method of producing natural colourings via a fungal biotech platform that, Co-Founder and CEO Gerit Tolborg says, addresses the ‘main challenges’ in the colourings sector, producing natural colours that are vegan, sustainable and high-performance.
The food colouring market has seen a long-term structural shift from synthetic colours to natural sources, driven by consumer demand for clean labels that are free from artificial additives. According to Mintel, the size of the natural colourings market overtook sales of synthetics back in 2011.
Nevertheless, the natural colourings market faces some challenges. Colourings made from carmine, a dye derived from cochineal insects, fail to meet growing demand for vegan products. Meanwhile, colourings from plant-based sources can face stability issues with light, pH and temperature sometimes