Founded in 2017 by Jean Delaveau, Lyophitech invented and patented a new freeze-drying process. The Lyon-based company increased its capital last September by raising €570,000 from around 20 business angels. This financing will enable the company to structure its industrial tool and accelerate its commercial development, particularly in the food, cosmetics and health markets.
Lyophitech revolutionizes an old process in favor of a faster, simpler and more economical dynamic freeze-drying. The invention democratizes a process allowing to enhance the naturalness of ingredients, by preserving their organoleptic and nutritional qualities and their active ingredients. The liquids are returned in the form of beads, this format is easy to handle, less volatile, and also improves rehydration compared to powders.
This round of financing comes at a time when Lyophitech wants to accelerate its development and production volumes. The company has had a 50-liter pilot unit for 24 months. The funding will allow the company to sponsor, for a total investment of €2.7 million, the construction of three new machines and to move into industrial premises in western Lyon (with a controlled atmosphere environment). The company currently has a team of nine employees and will move from R&D to industrial production in April 2022.
This first round of financing of 570 k€ was carried out with business angels, half of whom are members of the Hara network (Health Angels Rhône-Alpes). The arrival of these new regional investors in the capital will allow the company to support the industrial deployment in the first quarter of 2022 and the creation of new jobs. Since the beginning of the school year, Lyophitech has already recruited four people for the positions of sales manager, sales representative, QSE manager and electromechanical programmer.
By the end of 2021, positions for laboratory technicians (microbiologists), process engineers, workshop managers and office managers will be available. In 2022, operators on the industrial processing lines will be added to these positions. Lyophitech's ambition is to recruit a total of thirty employees by 2025. Indeed, the market potential currently amounts to 60 billion euros for 8 % of growth and the company expects a turnover of 700,000 euros in 2022 and 6.5 million euros by 2025 (for a volume of 750 tons dried annually).
"This fundraising is a necessary turning point that will allow us to finance our development from R&D to the industrial production phase. The challenge is to scale up the company and exploit our technology, which is now mature, by investing in high-performance production tools. We are enthusiastic about the idea of entering this new stage of the project and we already have other avenues for development. We are planning to increase the number of machines to six, to expand in France, to develop other patents, etc."explains Yann Neymarc, General Manager of Lyophitech. And he adds: "Market expectations are very high because the static technology and equipment currently available in the market is saturated. We have a lot of incoming requests from the different sectors we are targeting, and we look forward to being able to meet them."
