How an EU grant could change the pet industry through a Finnish biotech start-up

The NextGenerationEU program by the European Union—designed to repair economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic—has invested over €12 million ($13M) in Enifer, a biotech start-up based in Espoo, Finland.

The multi-million-dollar fund is expected to help propel the company’s next pet food segment launch and leverage its production capabilities. 

“The grant is fully allocated to the investment costs of our first commercial-scale mycoprotein factory,” Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Co-Founder Joosu Kuivanen tells GlobalPETS. He adds that the business will produce PEKILO mycoprotein, which is used not only in human food but also in pet and aqua feed.

The new factory, located in the Uusimaa region along the coast of Southern Finland, will be operational in early 2026. Thanks to the investment, the start-up hopes they can make a market launch in the pet food space by then.

According to Enifer, its mycoprotein pet food brand, PEKILO®Pet, is produced from renewable raw materials using fermentation and contains 60% protein and 30% fiber, along with smaller amounts of fat, minerals and vitamins. 

New capabilities

The new facility, which the company expects will cost €30 million ($32.6M), is expected to have an annual production capacity of 3 million kilograms of sustainable, locally sourced protein.

Through its sustainable approach, Enifer believes it will create an output approximately equivalent to the protein content of the meat from 30,000 cows. 

Enifer’s production process will operate with at least 20 times lower carbon emissions and considerably less water and land use than traditional methods. 

Implementing previous funding

Founded in 2020, Enifer raised €11 million ($11.98M) in its series A funding round last year. 

The company’s COO told GlobalPETS that the funds raised in 2023 will go partly toward the factory project and its pet feeding trials that will be carried out this year.

Kuivanen further highlighted that the company is also open to new collaborations with pet food companies that want to be at the forefront of bringing this new sustainable protein ingredient to market in 2026.

The Finnish company already has ongoing partnerships with global companies in the feed and pet food industries, such as the aquafeed business Skretting, which is Nutreco’s and Purina’s global aquafeed division.