Green Boy backs Fudi Protein, alfalfa-based RuBisCO aims for dairy-grade nutrition

Green Boy Group has taken an early-stage stake in Fudi Protein, placing a fresh wager on alfalfa-derived RuBisCO at a time when alt-protein capital is far more selective than it was a few years ago. The April 30 investment did not disclose financial terms, but the signal was clear: investors are looking beyond broad plant-protein claims and toward ingredients that can deliver nutrition, functionality, and a cleaner production story in one package.

Fudi Protein, founded in 2025 and led by former Eat Just supply chain and sustainability head Udi Lazimy, is built around RuBisCO extracted from regenerative alfalfa. The company says its ingredient is complete, white, flavorless, odorless, and suitable as a 1:1 egg protein replacement. It also says the protein contains all nine essential amino acids and offers superior digestibility and bioavailability, with a near-complete PDCAAS score of up to 1.0. That puts Fudi’s pitch in the same nutritional neighborhood as dairy and egg proteins, a notable claim for a plant ingredient trying to win in categories where off-notes and weak functionality have long limited adoption.

The commercial case is just as much about manufacturing as it is about nutrition. Green Boy, founded in 2016 by Frederik Otten and Peter van Dijken, now says it operates from Amsterdam and Los Angeles, with additional offices in Chicago, Hong Kong, and Sydney. The company says it works with more than 60 ingredient suppliers across 35-plus countries and runs more than 25 warehouses globally, a footprint that suggests it is betting on ingredients that can move through international food manufacturing channels rather than remain confined to niche R&D.

RuBisCO has earned that attention because the science has moved past curiosity. Reviews in Current Opinion in Food Science and in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems describe purified RuBisCO as nutritionally complete, easily digestible, and strong in foaming, gelling, and emulsifying behavior. A study on alfalfa RuBisCO called it a potentially climate-friendly alternative protein with a promising amino acid profile, while Aarhus University work suggests even lower-purity alfalfa RuBisCO could still work as a locally produced food protein. An Oxford Academic review said more than US$60 million had already been invested in RuBisCO-focused plants over the previous five years.

The harder question is whether extraction economics and market adoption can keep up with the technical promise. Fudi and Leaft Foods stand out for working directly with alfalfa farmers instead of crop residues or duckweed, and that local sourcing model could help differentiate the category if it can scale. Lacto Japan’s 2025 partnership with Leaft Foods to commercialize leaf-derived RuBisCO in East Asia shows that major food players are at least willing to test the format. For now, the opportunity looks less like a single protein launch and more like the opening of an ingredient platform built on underused plant biology.