New food ingredients: funding shortages hinder scale-up

The Netherlands has the expertise to develop new food ingredients. But that alone does not make fermentation-derived proteins ready for large-scale production. Companies face persistent obstacles between innovation and market entry. Invest-NL examined where progress stalls and what is needed to move forward. Food companies also have a role to play as future customers.

The new report covers biotechnology for agriculture and food. The researchers spoke with more than 150 entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, and policymakers. They also analyzed investment data from 2010 through April 2026.

Funding the first factory

Scaling up new food ingredients, such as fermentation-derived proteins, requires substantial investment. A first factory can easily cost tens to hundreds of millions of euros. According to Invest-NL, a suitable financing pathway is missing. Existing support programs often do not meet these companies’ needs. Some programs even exclude them precisely because they have been operating at a loss for years.

Corjan van den Berg is co-founder of Revyve, which makes proteins from yeast. “The science is working increasingly well. The real challenge is financing the path to commercial scale,” he says. “Investors cannot shoulder that burden alone. Companies also need loans, guarantees, and grants to make the move to industrial production.”

European approval takes longer

Regulatory approval is another bottleneck for new food ingredients. In Europe, companies wait one to three years longer for approval than in the US.

Invest-NL calls for rules better suited to what is being assessed. According to the organization, this does not mean lowering safety requirements. Access to testing facilities also needs to improve.

Bringing customers in earlier

The report calls for customers to be involved with these companies earlier. Public capital can help share the risks of a first factory. This can help unlock private investment.

According to Invest-NL, the Netherlands does not need to produce everything domestically. However, expertise, companies, and strategic parts of the value chain need to remain in the country.

Invest-nl.nl