Prolupin extends its growth financing round
MVP portfolio company Prolupin, the innovative plant-based protein company based in Grimmen, Germany, today announced the extension of its groth financing round with the investment of the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund.
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The European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF) is a new pan-European fund that invests in growth companies in the bioeconomy and circular bioeconomy with equity and mezzanine financings. The ECBF is backed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) as the cornerstone investor and by Hauck & Aufhäuser Fund Services S.A. administered in Luxembourg. Backed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and managed by Hauck & Aufhäuser Fund Services S.A. in Luxembourg, ECBF is the first growth-fund fund exclusively dedicated to the bioeconomy in Europe that focus on catalyzes sustainable innovations.
Since the launch of its vegan brand Made with LUVE in 2015, Prolupin has enjoyed exceptional annual growth. The new financing now enables the company to address the mass market for further growth and international expansion.
In addition to the existing investors, Munich Venture Partners and eCAPITAL, the renowned investors Capricorn Partners and Novax have already participated in the financing round in spring.
The Capricorn Partners, Novax, and ECBF investment brings a broad mix of technology expertise and trade network resources to Prolupin as it seeks to grow its plant-based offerings from lupines both B2B and B2C, including the non-dairy yoghurts, milks, ice creams and cream cheeses on the European market under the vegan Made with LUVE brand.
“The ECBF funding will make an important contribution to accelerate the growth of Prolupin within B2B and B2C. The research & development, marketing and distribution we are now able to deploy over the coming years will put our unique Lupine Protein Isolate (LPI) as well as the vegan Made with LUVE brand center stage for customers and consumers aiming for a healthy, sustainable ingredient and lifestyle.”
Malte Stampe (CEO, Prolupin GmbH)
Reiner Kuester, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Prolupin, stressed: “We are pleased to welcome the ECBF and the expertise it brings to the Advisory Board. With its international network and its focus on sustainability, the ECBF can significantly contribute to strengthening Prolupin’s position as a strong player in the fast-growing market of plant-based foods.
Michael Brandkamp, Managing Partners at ECBF, says: ” Prolupin is a fast-growing plant-based protein company with its successfully established dairy-alternatives brand made with LUVE. The growth in consumer demand for healthier food with a reduced environmental footprint will be long-lasting. With its lupine-based protein Prolupin is well positioned to capture a significant share in this market and to contribute to making our societies more sustainable.”
The investment bank Bryan, Garnier & Co was appointed as exclusive financial advisor for the transaction.
Prolupin Secures Growth Financing
Prolupin announces growth financing round led byCapricorn Partners and Novax
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Prolupin, the innovative plant-based protein company based in Grimmen, Germany, today announced the first closing of a double digit million growth financing round which will enable the company to expand its B2B and B2C offerings. After exceptional year-on-year growth since market introduction of its vegan Made with LUVE brand in 2015, the new financing will allow Prolupin to address the mass market for further growth and international expansion. The round was led by Capricorn Partners, from its Capricorn Sustainable Chemistry Fund and on behalf of Quest for Growth, an independent manager of private and quoted equity funds that invest in minority shareholding positions of innovative companies with technology as competitive advantage and Novax, the Stockholm-based growth investor powered by the Swedish Axel Johnson family, hallmarked by their long-term commitments and prominent holdings within the food space. The round
was initiated by existing investors Munich Venture Partners and eCapital Entrepreneurial Partners, who joined and hired the investment bank Bryan, Garnier & Co as exclusive financial advisor on the transaction.
The Capricorn Partners and Novax investment brings a broad mix of technology expertise and trade network resources to Prolupin as it seeks to grow its plant-based offerings from lupines both B2B and B2C, including the non-dairy yoghurts, milks, ice creams and cream cheeses on the European market under the vegan Made with LUVE brand.
Malte Stampe, CEO of Prolupin commented “the addition of Capricorn and Novax to our team will enable us to accelerate the growth of Prolupin within B2B and B2C. The marketing and distribution we are now able to deploy over the coming years will put our unique Lupine Protein Isolate (LPI) as well as the vegan Made with LUVE brand center stage for customers and consumers aiming for a healthy, sustainable ingredient and lifestyle.”
Reiner Kuester, Chairman of the Supervisory Board said “we are delighted to welcome Capricorn and Novax and the expertise they bring to the board. This investment from industry experts further validates the potential of Prolupin to become a major player in plant-based foods.”
Yvette Go, Senior Investment Manager at Capricorn Partners added “we were attracted by the potential of this innovative plant-based protein company. And we are very impressed with Prolupin’s unique approach of successfully proving the application potential of lupine with the Made with LUVE brand. As investors in technology companies we are excited to join forces in supporting the growth of Prolupin’s business using its unique technology advantage to expand in both B2B and B2C markets.”
Pär Warnström, Senior Investment Manager at Novax added “we were impressed by Prolupin’s unique capability to process the potent lupine crop, and look forward to partner with Malte and the team on their journey towards becoming a pioneering leader in the field of healthy plant-based foods.”
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About Prolupin: Prolupin is a spin out from the Fraunhofer-Institut für Verfahrenstechnik und Verpackung (IVV) in Munich with deep scientific expertise and a patent protected process for producing protein isolates from lupines. The company produces and markets a range of purely plant-based non-dairy alternatives to yoghurts, milks, ice creams and cream cheeses to address the growing demand for tasty plant-based foods for consumers focused on health and sustainability. For further information contact Malte Stampe, CEO at ms@prolupin.de or www.prolupin.com and madewithluve.de
About Capricorn Partners: Capricorn Partners is an independent European manager of venture capital and equity funds, investing in innovative European companies with technology as competitive advantage. The investment team of Capricorn is composed of experienced investment managers with deep technology expertise and a broad industrial experience. Capricorn Partners is managing the venture capital funds Capricorn Sustainable Chemistry Fund, Capricorn Digital Growth Fund, Capricorn ICT Arkiv, Capricorn Health-tech Fund and Capricorn Cleantech Fund. In addition, it is the management company of Quest for Growth, quoted on NYSE Euronext Brussels, and the investment manager of Quest Cleantech Fund and Quest+, sub‐funds of Quest Management SICAV, registered in Luxembourg. Find more information at www.capricorn.be
About Quest for Growth: QUEST FOR GROWTH is a privak/pricaf, a public alternative investment fund (AIF) with fixed capital under Belgian law, managed by Capricorn Partners NV. The diversified portfolio of Quest for Growth is for the most part invested in growth companies listed on European stock exchanges, in European unquoted companies and in venture capital funds. Quest for Growth focuses on innovative companies in areas such as digital technologies (ICT), technologies for the healthcare sector (Health-tech) and clean technology (Cleantech). Quest for Growth has been listed on Euronext Brussels since 23 September 1998. Find more information at www.questforgrowth.com/en
About Novax: A long-term investor and partner to fast-growing businesses across Europe with strong teams, sector-leading positions and high-impact potential. Founded in 1999 and based in Stockholm, Novax is a part of the Swedish Axel Johnson Group. Investments include Academic Work, ApoEx, Bruce, Filippa K, Hedvig, Matsmart, Leeroy, RCO, STC and Voyado. Through our long-term and thesis-driven devotion to a limited number of sectors, we are committed to support pioneering businesses on their journeys toward market-leadership over the long-haul. Find more information under www.axeljohnson.se/bolag/novax
About eCAPITAL: eCAPITAL entrepreneurial Partners AG is a Münster-based alternative investment fund manager (AIFM) in accordance with EU-directive EuVECA. As a leading German venture capital firm, eCAPITAL has supported innovative entrepreneurs in future-oriented industries since 1999. The firm focuses on rapidly growing companies in the areas of Software / IT, Cleantech, Industry 4.0 and New Materials. Currently, eCAPITAL manages six funds with a total of 220 million euros under management. Find more information under www.ecapital.de/en
About Munich Venture Partners: Munich Venture Partners is a European venture capital investor backing entrepreneurs driving the eco-industrial revolution with transformative technologies. The investment focus is on sectors with CO2 emission-intensive value chains: energy, mobility, agriculture and food, and industrial technologies. MVP has more than 15 years of experience investing in cleantech start-ups across Europe, including investments in recent success cases relayr and sonnen. Find more information under http://www.munichvp.com
About Bryan, Garnier & Co: Bryan, Garnier & Co is a European, full-service growth-focused independent investment banking partnership founded in 1996. The firm provides equity research, sales and trading, private and public capital raising as well as M&A services to growth companies and their investors. It focuses on key growth sectors of the economy including Technology, Healthcare, Consumer and Business Services. Bryan, Garnier & Co is a fully registered broker dealer authorized and regulated by the FCA in Europe and the FINRA in the U.S. Bryan, Garnier & Co is headquartered in London, with additional offices in Paris, Munich, Stockholm, Oslo, Reykjavik as well as New York and Palo Alto. The firm is a member of the London Stock Exchange. Find more information under www.bryangarnier.com
GreenCom Networkstime to shine
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MVP portfolio company GreenCom Networks is acquiring shine, founded by the innogy Innovation Hub. shine made its name by building up energy management services for residential customers. The start-up already utilizes GreenCom’s Energy Information Brokerage Platform and has expanded GreenCom’s services with an array of services including shine energy check, shineSmart, and shineHub.
GreenCom will integrate shine’s end-customer base and services into its energy IoT platform. This will allow GreenCom to offer end-to-end services on top of its technology platform, which allows integration of solar PV, batteries, heat pumps or electric vehicles from various manufacturers. GreenCom plans to demonstrate disruptive services for residential customers that go beyond today’s flat-rate or energy community offerings in the market. Those lessons will be used to support GreenCom’s utility partners and device manufacturers to speed up the transition towards a future energy world.
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What's "driving the eco-industrial revolution" about?
Climate change has entered a new phase. Alarming signals of an ever more rapid change in the biosphere are increasing. And scientists highlight that earth may have already passed several climate change tipping points which has irreversible effects, such as the loss of the Amazon rainforest and the great ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland. At the same time, it is becoming a decisive political factor with hundreds of thousands of young people pioneering a new extra-parliamentary climate opposition.
…it’s about decoupling economic growth from environmental pollution
As the world’s population is rising to over 9 billion people in 2050, countries of the South and the East are becoming increasingly industrialized, and cities continue to grow, global economic output will roughly double in the next 30 years. Over the same period, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will have to fall dramatically in order to reach the GHG reduction targets set by governments. For the EU, the binding target is a cut by at least 40% compared to 1990 levels by 2030. This puts a great burden on the economy. However, the question is not whether the global economy will continue to grow. The key question is whether we can decouple value creation from environmental pollution.
The recipe is nothing less than a new industrial revolution with an impact similar to the invention of the steam engine, industrial steal making, or the automobile: the eco-industrial revolution.
In essence, it is about a threefold transformation of the old industrial society: firstly, a complete shift from fossil energy sources to renewable energies; secondly, a continuous increase in resource efficiency to generate more value from fewer raw materials and energy; and thirdly, the transition to a circular economy in which the productivity of resources is increased.
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…it’s about fostering the transformative power of technology
Similar as the first industrial revolution was triggered by the invention of the stream engine, also the eco-industrial revolution will be driven by technological innovations and their expansion. However, this time, we require technologies that allow a rethinking of existing value chains to reduce CO2 emissions along the entire process of value creation.
At MVP, we call such technologies that (I) improve, (II) enhance, or (III) reconstruct existing value chains Transformative Technologies. They trigger fundamental changes and paradigm shifts in existing business areas in short time frames. To some degree, Transformative Technologies can also be viewed as disruptive. However, rather than the disruptive “destroy and build new” approach, Transformative Technologies may also enable developing new enhanced solutions using existing infrastructure whenever possible. They are the basis for shaping the future and have an extraordinary growth potential. Identifying these opportunities and financing appropriate technologies and solutions is one of the strategic cornerstones of MVP’s Venture Capital investment approach.
…it’s about leveraging total value potential
Our focus is on driving change in the most CO2 intensive sectors and financing businesses that can have a huge impact in achieving decarbonization of the incumbent industry. To make it clear: it’s not about limiting economic growth in favor of ecological sustainability. We are firmly convinced that economic growth and ecological sustainability are not tradeoffs, but in contrast mutually reinforcing factors. With investments in companies like sonnen we were able to verify this thesis in the past. Even more, companies and business models, which do not take into account ecological responsibility, will not be successful anymore or disappear completely.
Therefore, we integrate the concept of Triple Top Line value creation in our investment strategy to leverage the full transformative potential of a technology. Rather than balancing economical, ecological and societal targets, this approach focuses on employing their dynamic interplay to generate value. (Read more about our Triple Top Line strategy here)
Driving the industrial revolution is the core philosophy of our investment approach. In fact, that’s what we’ve been doing at MVP for over 15 years now. With this experience and the capital entrusted to us, we back pioneering entrepreneurs and become sparring partners for ambitious teams to create the business leaders of tomorrow.
