NoPalm Ingredients raises €5 million to deliver palm oil alternative

By Team IO

NoPalm Ingredients, a Dutch biotechnology company producing yeast oils, announced the successful closure of a € 5 million Seed funding round. The investment will accelerate the company’s mission to provide a local, circular, and sustainable solution for the global palm oil market.

The funding round was led by Rubio Impact Ventures, and co-led by Oost NL, Fairtree Elevant Ventures, and family office Willow Capital Investments with participation from The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and other private investors.

Transforming local waste streams into yeast oils

Founded in 2021 by Lars Langhout and Professor Dr. Jeroen Hugenholtz, NoPalm Ingredients aims to address the environmental and supply chain challenges of conventional palm oil, which is found in 60% of supermarket products. NoPalm Ingredients employs a fermentation process using non-genetically-modified (non-GMO) proprietary yeasts combined with patented low-capex technology. This process transforms upcycled, locally sourced agri-food sidestreams, such as potato peels and whey permeate, into yeast oils.

Feedback from customers indicates that NoPalm Ingredients’ oils are an ideal drop-in replacement for palm oil, requiring no recipe reformulation and achieving price parity. This is made possible by the use of agri-food sidestreams and an asset-light technology that is quick to scale. Additionally, the technology also boasts a 90% reduction in CO₂ emissions and a 99% decrease in land use compared to traditional palm oil production. NoPalm has proven their oil quality with pilot partners including industry giants Colgate-Palmolive, Unilever, and Zeelandia.

NoPalm Ingredients brews a sustainable alternative to palm oil from vegetables

The tropical rainforest is home to many animals, such as the elephant, tiger and orangutan. Yet every second, the Dutch environmental organization Milieudefensie has calculated that approximately 169 trees are cut down in tropical forests. Also, more than one billion people depend on rainforests.

Lars Langhout, CEO & Co-founder of NoPalm Ingredients: “Palm oil is cheap, incredibly versatile and widely used in almost every fast-moving consumer good, from your toothpaste to my newborn’s infant formula. The problem is that global demand for palm oil grows by 4% annually, and there’s no strategy to meet the additional 22 million tons needed by 2030 without clearing rainforests 1.5 times the size of Ireland. With new regulations banning deforestation-related products, European companies can only source sustainably certified palm oil, which excludes 83% of current supplies.

This will drive price increases that will affect every family in Europe. Often, the answer isn’t to prohibit a product but to step back and create a superior alternative that naturally compels a switch. This funding is pivotal for us to demonstrate large-scale production and reach our next milestone of producing 1,5 million kilograms of sustainable oil annually, solidifying our role as a trusted partner in the food and personal care industries. We are on track for industrialization and commercialization in 2025.”