Clean Food Group, a UK-based biotechnology company focused on sustainable oils and fats, announced it has raised £4.5 million in new funding to accelerate the scale-up of its fermentation manufacturing capabilities. The round was led by Clean Growth Fund and New Agrarian, with additional support from existing investors including SEED Innovations and Döhler Group.
In addition to the equity investment, the company secured a £700,000 non-dilutive grant from Innovate UK, strengthening its financial position as it advances commercialization efforts.
The funding will be used to complete the scale-up of Clean Food Group’s recently acquired one-million-liter fermentation facility in Knowsley, Liverpool, expand production capacity, and accelerate the commercialization of its yeast-derived oils and fats. The facility positions the company as the world’s largest manufacturer in this category, enabling it to meet growing demand for sustainable alternatives to traditional agricultural and tropical oil supply chains.
Clean Food Group’s proprietary fermentation platform produces high-performance oils and fats using food waste feedstocks and microbial processes, offering a more sustainable and resilient approach to ingredient production. The company is targeting applications across food, cosmetics, and pet nutrition markets, where demand for environmentally sustainable inputs continues to rise.
The investment comes amid broader industry tailwinds, as global supply chains face increasing pressure from climate volatility, geopolitical disruptions, and resource constraints. Clean Food Group aims to address these challenges by enabling localized, scalable production of key ingredients.
KEY QUOTES:
“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.”
Tom Ellen, Chief Financial Officer, Clean Food Group
“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.”
Rodrigo Hortega de Velasco, Managing Partner, Döhler Ventures
“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.”
Jim Mellon, Chairman And Founder, New Agrarian
