We’re happy to have helped our Boston-based plant cell technology client Ayana Bio sign a seven-figure dollar development agreement in South Korea – with Wooree Green Science, part of Korea’s Wooree Bio conglomerate.
Ayana Bio’s mission is to change the way the world uses bioactives to stay healthy. It discovers and produces complex micronutrients that are otherwise locked away in plants and fungi to advance nutrition while conserving nature.
Under the agreement, Ayana Bio and Wooree Green Science will develop plant cell-based marigold and saffron bioactives for the Korean market. Ayana Bio’s plant cell lines will be applied to Wooree’s mass cultivation system to make health products based on these ingredients in a more sustainable and affordable way.
Marigold flowers are rich in lutein, which can support eye health. And saffron aids weight loss, but is increasingly expensive to harvest via traditional means for use in supplements.
Did you know it can take 170,000 flowers to produce just one kilo of saffron?
Our team in Seoul has been helping Ayana Bio to expand its business in South Korea since 2022, with this deal the latest result of their efforts in a market that’s highly fertile for plant cultivation innovations.
You can see more on the development agreement in agtech industry publication AgFunderNews here.
We’re greatly looking forward to seeing the two companies working together to produce bioactives in South Korea.
To discuss the opportunities in Asia for your foodtech or agtech business, contact Sol Bergen-Bartel at sol.bergenbartel@intralinkgroup.com