Clean Food Group, a biotechnology startup producing sustainable oils and fats through fermentation, has raised £4.5 million in funding led by Clean Growth Fund and New Agrarian. It has also secured a £700,000 non-dilutive grant from Innovate UK.
The funding follows the acquisition of a one million-litre fermentation manufacturing facility in Knowsley, Liverpool in September 2025. This facility enables Clean Food Group to produce yeast-derived oils and fats at scale, supporting demand for alternatives to traditional agricultural and tropical oil supply chains. Its fermentation platform uses microbial production and food waste feedstocks to create oils and fats for use across food, cosmetics and pet nutrition markets, with the aim of reducing reliance on environmentally damaging supply chains and improving supply resilience.
The capital will be used to complete the scale-up of the Knowsley facility, expand production capacity and accelerate commercialisation of its products. The site positions Clean Food Group as a large-scale manufacturer of yeast-derived oils and fats, supporting localised and lower-impact ingredient production.
The global sustainable food market was valued at US$315 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach US$524 billion by 2032 at a CAGR of 6.7%.
Existing shareholders including SEED Innovations and Döhler Group continue to support the business, with Döhler Group also contributing to its commercial scale-up. Leadership commentary highlights the role of fermentation technology in addressing supply chain fragility caused by geopolitical and environmental factors.
We are extremely pleased to have the continued support of Clean Growth Fund and a new partner in New Agrarian, two highly respected specialist investors in sustainable food and industrial biotechnology. Their support, together with the Innovate grant, represents a strong endorsement of Clean Food Group’s significant progress and the scale of the opportunity ahead. The capital raised will enable the Company to bring on stream the world’s largest yeast-derived oils and fats facility and to deliver on our long-term vision for sustainable food manufacturing.
We are pleased to support Clean Food Group in this latest funding round and proud to have been part of the Company’s scale-up journey to date. CFG has consistently demonstrated both the strength of its technology and the commercial potential of its sustainable oils and fats platform. The acquisition of the Knowsley facility marks a significant milestone, enabling production at a scale that brings these innovative products closer to widespread commercial reality. We look forward to continuing our collaboration as CFG advances towards full-scale market deployment.
Supply chain fragility is one of the defining risks of our time. War, climate volatility, and trade disputes are presenting a huge challenge to manufacturers; the ingredients we assumed would always be available are no longer guaranteed. Clean Food Group is addressing this problem head-on, using scalable science and technology to build genuine resilience and sustainability into the way we produce and source key ingredients used in everything from food to cosmetics. For me, this sits at a rare intersection: a compelling investment case and a genuine solution to one of the most pressing challenges of our generation.
