PARIS — Hub.cycle, a French company that converts fruit and vegetable wastes into raw materials for the personal care and food industries, has raised its first round of funding, worth 1.5 million euros, to develop upcycling throughout its production chain.
Capital risk fund Daphni led the round, which involved Swen Capital and business angles, such as Sofiane Ammar, Cédric Sellin and Jean-Charles Morisseau.
The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the shift toward sustainable consumption, especially in the beauty space, which has helped make it an attractive target for investors.
“This sum will allow the company to recruit new talents, list new products and pursue its expansion in France and abroad,” the Avignon, France-based company said in a statement, adding the funds will also be used to finance an applications laboratory.
Julien Lesage, a phytochemist, founded Hub.cycle in 2016, then was joined by Dominique Sylvain, an agro-food engineer.
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They recognized that between 30 and 50 percent of agricultural production is thrown away when it is transformed industrially, so set out to create a transversal solution meant to give strong value to the discarded products.
Hub.cycle analyzes molecules, conservation, traceability and quality, as well as prospects opportunities.
The company, for instance, might work with an orange juice producer, taking its cast-off orange skins that could be of interest to cosmetics players that are after some elements found in the fruit’s rinds.
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