Clean Food Group secures US$5.7 million funding to scale yeast-derived oils at Knowsley fermentation facility

Clean Food Group has secured £4.5 million (US$5.7 million) in investment led by Clean Growth Fund and New Agrarian, alongside a £700,000 (US$900,000) grant from Innovate UK, to accelerate the scale-up of its fermentation facility in Knowsley, Liverpool.

• Clean Food Group has raised £4.5 million (US$5.7 million) from Clean Growth Fund and New Agrarian, alongside a £700,000 (US$0.9 million) Innovate UK grant.
• Funding has supported the scale-up of a one million-liter fermentation facility in Knowsley, Liverpool, acquired in September 2025.
• The site has enabled large-scale production of yeast-derived oils and fats for food, cosmetics and pet nutrition markets.

The funding has followed the company’s acquisition of a one million-liter fermentation manufacturing site in September 2025, with the latest capital aimed at completing scale-up, expanding production capacity and accelerating commercialization of its oils and fats platform.

The Knowsley facility has marked a significant step for the company, enabling production at a scale designed to meet growing demand for alternatives to traditional agricultural and tropical oil supply chains. Clean Food Group has reported that the site has positioned it among the largest producers globally of yeast-derived oils and fats.

The company’s technology has centered on fermentation, using yeast strains to produce oils and fats from food waste feedstocks. This approach has aimed to combine sustainability with functionality at commercial scale, targeting applications across food, cosmetics and pet nutrition.

Tom Ellen, Chief Financial Officer of Clean Food Group, said the backing reflected confidence in both the company’s progress and its long-term opportunity. “We were 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,” he said.

“Their support, together with the Innovate grant, represented a strong endorsement of Clean Food Group’s significant progress and the scale of the opportunity ahead. The capital raised enabled 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.”

Existing investors have continued to support the company, including SEED Innovations and ingredient group Döhler. The latter, through its venture arm, has remained involved as Clean Food Group has moved from development toward larger-scale production.

Rodrigo Hortega de Velasco, Managing Partner at Döhler Ventures, said the company’s progress to date had demonstrated both technical and commercial potential. “We were 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,” he said.

“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 marked a significant milestone, enabling production at a scale that brought these innovative products closer to widespread commercial reality. We looked forward to continuing our collaboration as CFG advanced towards full-scale market deployment.”

New Agrarian’s involvement has added another strategic investor focused on resilience in global supply chains. Chairman and Founder Jim Mellon highlighted broader pressures affecting ingredient availability.

“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,” he said.

“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 sat at a rare intersection: a compelling investment case and a genuine solution to one of the most pressing challenges of our generation.”

The company has developed its platform to support localized production, reducing reliance on imported oils such as palm and other tropical sources. By using fermentation and food waste inputs, it has aimed to lower environmental impact while maintaining performance characteristics required by manufacturers.

Clean Food Group has reported that its process has already been validated at scale, with the Knowsley site expected to play a central role in meeting demand from global food, cosmetic and pet nutrition companies. The company has also confirmed ongoing collaborations with major FMCG and ingredient manufacturers, alongside a growing commercial pipeline.

Founded in 2022 following eight years of research, the company has focused on building a scalable alternative to conventional oil and fat production. Its approach has been designed to deliver products at price parity with agricultural equivalents while addressing sustainability and supply chain concerns.

The latest funding has been announced as Clean Food Group has made its debut at in-cosmetics Global in Paris, marking a step forward in its commercial engagement with industry partners.