Plant-based food company, Plantible Foods, now fully operative at Texas RuBisCO facility; aims to secure funding to triple production capacity.

Plant-based food company, Plantible Foods, now fully operative at Texas RuBisCO facility; aims to secure funding to triple production capacity.

Plantible Foods Opens Commercial-Scale Duckweed Protein Facility in Texas

Plantible Foods, a biotech company specializing in sustainable protein production, has fully opened a large-scale commercial duckweed protein facility in Eldorado, Texas. Dubbed 'The Ranchito', the facility is capable of producing thousands of metric tons of biomass annually and yielding hundreds of metric tons of Rubi Protein per year [1][2][3][4][5].

The facility is equipped with advanced filtration technology that significantly reduces production costs and increases throughput, moving Plantible Foods closer to cash flow positivity [2][3][5]. The company recently introduced a proprietary lemna (duckweed) strain that increases protein yield per ton of biomass and per acre of cultivation [3][4].

Plantible Foods is actively seeking further investment to triple the capacity of the Texas facility. The startup has also secured long-term offtake agreements with key customers, notably ICL, with whom they are collaborating to incorporate Rubi Protein as an allergen-free, neutral-tasting, complete protein that enhances texture, stability, and nutritional profile in plant-based food products [2][5].

Rubi protein, extracted from the fast-growing aquatic plant lemna, contains all essential amino acids with a PDCAAS score of 1.0 [6]. The first retail products containing Rubi protein will launch in September. Rubi protein is self-GRAS (generally recognized as safe) in the US and is attracting interest in various food industries due to its unique functional properties.

Co-founder and CEO Tony Martens introduced a proprietary strain of lemna with a higher protein yield. Martens also mentioned that many food companies aim to remove allergens from their labels to make their products more accessible. He stated that egg replacement is a hot topic in the food industry and emphasized the importance of clean labels and the removal of synthetic ingredients, a trend that continues to gain momentum [7].

Plantible is fostering regional workforce development through educational partnerships and internship programs, aimed at cultivating talent in sustainable manufacturing, agriculture, and biotech fields to support the mission of sustainable food production [5]. The company closed a $30 million Series B round co-led by Piva Capital and Siddhi Capital last year [8].

Several other companies, including Leaft Foods, ProLeafEra, FUDI Ingredients, Day 8, Brevel, Alfa-Ruby, and the Leaf Protein Company, are also working on commercializing RuBisCO for human food applications. RuBisCO, one of the most abundant proteins on the planet, has nutrition and functionality rivaling animal proteins [9].

References:

1. Plantible Foods Opens Commercial-Scale Duckweed Protein Facility in Texas
2. Plantible Foods Expands Duckweed Protein Production in Texas
3. Plantible Foods Announces Proprietary Lemna Strain for Higher Protein Yield
4. Plantible Foods Partners with ICL to Scale Up Duckweed Protein Production
5. Plantible Foods: Building a Sustainable Food System through Duckweed
6. Plantible Foods: A New Source of Protein from Duckweed
7. Plantible Foods: The Future of Sustainable Protein
8. Plantible Foods Closes $30 Million Series B Funding Round
9. RuBisCO: The Abundant Protein that Could Revolutionize Plant-Based Foods

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