Herzogenburg-based Kern Tec, an upcycling and food tech company that turn industrial byproducts into ingredients for the food & beverage industry, has raised €12 million round led by Telos Impact. Kern Tec aims to use it to scale up production and commercialise its ingredients for both B2B and B2C applications.
- Kern Tec was co-founded in 2019, by Fichtinger, Sebastian Jeschko, Fabian Wagesreither and Michael Beitl, Currently, Kern Tec uses pits of stone fruits like apricots, plums and cherries that are otherwise destined to go to waste and turns them into oil and ingredients for the food & beverage industry but also for cosmetic and industrial applications.
New kind of milk alternative from fruit pits
- Kern Tec claims that it has already processed over 2.500 tons of fruit pits in their Austrian production facility. Currently, the company enters the growth stage scaling the whole value chain and their global customer base.
“Kern Tec rescues fruit pits from waste in fruit processing & returns them to the food industry as a valuable ingredient in accordance with the principle of circular economy. Less CO2 emissions, less water consumption — our fruit pits are the raw material for food with a low footprint.”
- The fresh investment was led by Telos Impact, Belgium impact management and consulting firm. PeakBridge Growth II Fund and the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund also participated in the round. Apart from the equity financing, the company has secured significant local and international grants.
“This historic €12 million investment amplifies our commitment. We’re not merely producing ingredients; we’re spearheading a sustainable shift in the B2B food landscape,”
co-founder & CEO Luca Fichtinger commented the deal
- Kern Tec plans to launch in the US in 2025, once it has completed the scale-up process in Europe. The company also wants to develop new technologies with the funds as well. Additionally, it hopes to scale the value chain and increase its employee numbers.
