The Lodz-based startup NapiFeryn, creator of technology for obtaining rapeseed protein from side-streams of oil pressing, has announced the receiving of €2.5 million investment. The round was led by Icos Capital and joined by a Polish family office.
- Founded in 2014 by two biotechnologists Magdalena Kozlowska and Piotr Wnukowski, NapiFeryn develops and patents a process to obtain rapeseed proteins from the side-streams of oil pressing for functional, nutritional, and cost-effective protein isolates, and concentrates. These ingredients are a sustainable alternative to animal-derived proteins, are nutritional, and can be used in a wide variety of applications.
- The origin of the company’s name, NapiFeryn BioTech is a combination of two names of proteins that are obtained from rapeseed: napin and cruciferin. The startup’s R&D center is located at BioNanoPark, a science and technology park in the city of Lodz. Among its partners are University of Warsaw, Bionanopark, Politechnika Lodzka, EIT Food.
- The round was led by Dutch-based Icos Capital, a collaborative VC firm working at the intersection of digital and sustainable industry. Among the firm’s most famous investments are BioActor (health ingredients), InnovoPro (chickpea proteins), Nutrileads (plant-derived human health ingredients), and WholeFiber (prebiotic fibers for a healthy gut microbiome). The round was also joined by a local Polish family office.
- NapiFeryn will use the fresh round to launch its canola/rapeseed protein from large oil pressing side streams, to support further scale-up and growth of the company.
