MicroLub, a University of Leeds spinout, has raised £3.5m of seed money in a round combining capital from the NPIF II – Praetura Equity North West fund, LIFTT and Northern Gritsone, which led the funding.
Fats and oils make foods texturally appealing and tastier by adding ‘lubricity’ and a ‘creamy’ mouthfeel. However, they also increase calorie content. With obesity contributing to a projected global annual health bill of $4.3 trillion, and over half the world’s population on course to be overweight or obese within the next decade1, MicroLub is addressing the need for less-calorific alternatives from food and food-ingredients companies. The spinout’s technology adds lubrication to foods without losing mouthfeel through unique ‘scaffolds’, made of protein and water and coated by polysaccharides.
MicroLub aims not only to make foods healthier, but also to contribute to sustainability by supporting the alternative protein industry in making plant-based foods less astringent.
MicroLub already has strong traction with some of the largest food and food ingredients companies and with retail sales of reduced-fat dairy and plant-based food products in Europe, the US and the UK alone worth more than $120 billion2, the market opportunity for MicroLub is significant.
Duncan Johnson, CEO of Northern Gritstone, said: “Northern Gritstone is delighted to support MicroLub’s world-class team. Obesity is a challenge in many countries reducing the quality of life of an individual and often shortening it. MicroLub shows that innovation coming out of the University of Leeds has the potential to help solve these global challenges.”
Professor Anwesha Sarkar, Founder of MicroLub said: “When we discovered the technology and tested lubricity, we knew it had many potential applications, which we can now explore with this investment led by Northern Gritstone.”
David Peters, CEO of MicroLub said ‘There is a huge market opportunity in food for MicroLub. We already have strong traction with ingredients giants and some of the largest food and dairy companies, who are looking for innovative ways to make their products healthier, more nutritious and more sustainable. I am very excited at the journey ahead with our customers.”
Professor Nick Plant, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation at the University of Leeds, said: “This groundbreaking research is addressing a major global challenge while placing the UK at the forefront of the quest to reduce health inequalities. We are proud of our track record of transforming academic research into commercial success.”
