The Protein Brewery raises €18 million to scale Fermotein launch

The Protein Brewery closed an €18 million Series B extension led by ABN AMRO Sustainable Impact Fund, giving the Breda company fresh capital just as Fermotein moved from approval into commercial launch mode. Novo Holdings, Invest-NL and BOM also reinvested, and the company said the money will support its next phase of growth ahead of a European rollout for the biomass-fermentation mycoprotein ingredient.

The timing matters because Fermotein only received European Commission authorization on 17 June 2026, clearing the ingredient for sale in the European market after a positive EFSA opinion and a long Novel Food review. The Protein Brewery says Fermotein is the first novel mycelium ingredient authorized under EU Novel Food rules, a milestone that makes the next hurdle commercial rather than regulatory: scaling production, signing customers and proving the economics can work outside the lab and pilot stage.

Fermotein is built around a specific formulation pitch. The company describes it as a whole-food mycoprotein ingredient made through biomass fermentation of Rhizomucor pusillus, with about 50% protein and 30% fibre, plus micronutrients and bioactives. The ingredient is positioned as neutral in taste and colour, which opens the door to RTM powders, shakes, bars, baked goods, dairy alternatives and other sport nutrition and better-for-you products where flavour masks, texture and mixability can make or break adoption.

That positioning has been central to The Protein Brewery since its founding in 2020. The company opened a certified pilot plant in Breda in June 2021 and broke ground on its first demonstration production plant in January 2022, then expanded into North America with a Delaware subsidiary in September 2021. By September 2025, it had already raised a €30 million Series B round, and the new extension lifts total funding to more than €70 million.

The remaining question is execution. The company says it already has sales in the United States and expected its first Singapore customers to launch in the first quarter of 2026, which gives Fermotein some commercial history before its European push. But Europe is the real proving ground now. With public and strategic backers returning to the table, The Protein Brewery has the capital to chase industrial volumes and customer wins, but the market will judge it on whether Fermotein can move from promising fermentation platform to an ingredient business with real shelf space and repeat orders.