Colorcon Ventures, the corporate venture fund of Colorcon, has invested in Phytolon, an Israel-based startup specialising in natural food colourants.
Phytolon produces natural colourants by leveraging precision fermentation methods on modified baker’s yeast.
Colorcon Ventures’ investment is part of a bridge round that includes support from existing investors.
The investors include Arkin Capital, EIT Food, NextGen Nutrition, Steve Dubin, Trendlines, Yossi Ackerman, and another strategic investor to be announced later.
Colorcon film coatings and strategic business development vice president Kelly Boyer said: “Colorcon is proud to make an investment in Phytolon, as they are well aligned with our focus on continued innovation and emerging technology.
“Since our founding, Colorcon has become a true leader in color science and color matching for film coatings in both pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications.
“We applaud Phytolon for their innovative work, which has the potential to deliver high-performing, sustainable natural colors at scale, which would be a win for the industry.”
Colorcon provides film coating systems, speciality excipients, controlled release formulations, and packaging for the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries.
Colorcon Ventures focuses on investing in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical sectors, including areas like research and development (R&D), manufacturing, supply chain, and product delivery.
It is a partner to more than 4,500 pharmaceutical companies worldwide and aims to advance pharmaceutical formulation and manufacturing processes.
Phytolon aims to meet consumer demands for clean-label, healthy, and sustainable food systems.
Its portfolio includes shades of orange, pink, purple, red, and yellow, catering to various food and other market categories.
Phytolon co-founder and CEO Halim Jubran said: “We are excited to have Colorcon Ventures join our existing strategic partners, including Rich’s, Ginkgo Bioworks and others, as we move to the commercialisation stage.
“Colorcon’s strong formulation and regulatory expertise will be crucial as we validate expansion beyond the food sector into addressable markets, such as nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals.”
Recently, Colorcon opened a new advanced film coating manufacturing facility in Johor, Malaysia, which features advanced technology and energy-efficient systems.
The 200,000ft2 facility, which employs 30 people, will serve as the production hub for film coatings in the Asia Pacific region.
