Generation Food Rural Partners Launches PlantSustain to Revolutionize the Plant Protection and Soil Amendment Industries, Appoints CEO
07 Mayo 2024 - 8:00AM
Big Idea Ventures ("BIV"), the global leader in early-stage
alternative protein and food technology investing, has launched its
fifth portfolio company through its Generation Food Rural Partners
(“GFRP”) Fund.
PlantSustain (the “Company”) is dedicated to proving and
commercializing bio-based research to deliver eco-friendly products
and solutions for more sustainable agriculture.
“As the demand for less toxic crop protection and fertilizer
products increases, GFRP is very excited to launch a company
focused on commercializing breakthrough endophytic microbe
technologies aimed at creating sustainable crop protection and
nutrition solutions for farmers,” shares Elsa Swanson Sareen, Vice
President of the GFRP
fund.
The board of directors of PlantSustain has appointed Simon Hill
as Chief Executive Officer. Simon is a seasoned global business
development leader with a broad range of experience in scaling and
commercializing technologies to global
markets.
According to Simon, “The push to adopt more sustainable and cost
effective solutions to agricultural challenges is driving
innovation. Inspired by the strides made by GFRP in alternative
protein and sustainable packaging, I am thrilled to lead
PlantSustain in working with renowned research institutions and
established distribution partners to identify, develop and
commercialize reliable and cost effective microbial products for
more efficient agricultural production.”
The GFRP Fund evaluates intellectual property focused on
innovations in the agriculture, food, and protein sectors. The GFRP
Fund invests to create new companies formed around research with
the greatest chance for broad commercialization. These new
companies will be headquartered in rural communities, creating
living wage jobs to drive economic growth and development.
About PlantSustain
PlantSustain is a platform for progressing biological innovation
from research through to commercialization, aiming to replace
chemical pesticides and fertilizers with natural endophytic
bacteria and fungi solutions. Leveraging the expertise and
innovation developed at leading universities and research
institutes, PlantSustain boosts plants’ ability to fight disease
while increasing nutritional intake for healthier crops and the
environment. The Company will license intellectual property from
universities and commercialize the technology to address challenges
to the agriculture and food industries. For more information, visit
www.plantsustain.com
About Generation Food Rural
Partners
Generation Food Rural Partners (“GFRP” or the “Fund”) is a
RBIC-licensed investment fund designed to drive economic growth and
development in rural communities in the US. The Fund invests in the
area of Food, Agriculture and Protein technologies to form new
companies based on intellectual property, creating living wage jobs
at its portfolio companies. GFRP is backed by members of the Farm
Credit System, including Farm Credit Services of America, CoBank,
Compeer Financial and Mid-America Farm Credit. GFRP is a part of
Big Idea Ventures (“BIV”), the world’s most active investor in
FoodTech, investing in the best food technology and AgriTech
companies globally. BIV has offices in New York, Paris and
Singapore and has invested in more than 100 companies across 30
countries and manages the New Protein family of funds and GFRP. For
more information, visit
https://bigideaventures.com/generation-food-rural-partners/.
Media
Contact
PlantSustain| Simon Hill | simon@plantsustain.comBig Idea
Ventures | Olivia Chavassieu |
olivia.chavassieu@bigideaventures.com | +33 7 49 63 40 80