Ferm Labs, a Swiss-Italian startup specializing in bioprocessing for food ingredients, has raised €3 million in a new funding round. The investment was led by CDP Venture Capital through its Green Transition Fund, with participation from Fund F, Redstone, Euregio+, Alpine VC, and Loacker.
Founded in 2025 by Stephanie Lüpold and Mattia Baroni, the company develops clean-label ingredients using non-GMO microbes. Its platform accelerates fermentation processes from weeks to hours, converting low-value sidestreams into kokumi peptide profiles. The resulting products are free from E-numbers, added fats, and high sodium content.
The startup's flagship product, Kokumesan, is derived from liquid whey and targets the industrial cheese market, valued at €68 billion. According to the company, Kokumesan offers 75% cost-in-use savings by reducing the required raw cheese content in food formulations from 20% to less than 1%.
Headquartered in Zug with production facilities in Bolzano, Ferm Labs intends to utilize the new capital to increase bioprocessing capacity in South Tyrol. The company also plans to expand its European sales team and increase its R&D headcount to support the development of additional product categories.
