<article>JuiceInnov8, a Bangkok-based startup focused on food biotechnology, has closed a $500,000 pre-Series A investment led by Silicon Valley early-stage venture capital firm <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/tag/500-startups/">500 Startups</a>.
The funding came from 500 Startups&#8217; regional Durians II Fund and TukTuks Fund.</article>

JuiceInnov8, a Bangkok-based startup focused on food biotechnology, has closed a $500,000 pre-Series A investment led by Silicon Valley early-stage venture capital firm <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/tag/500-startups/">500 Startups</a>.
The funding came from 500 Startups&#8217; regional Durians II Fund and TukTuks Fund.
JuiceInnov8 is working on developing sugar reduction technology with non-genetically modified microbes that help create healthier, natural juice with less sugar and fewer calories.
Proceeds from the latest funding will be used to expand the company’s core scientist and engineering team and help accelerate the development of its platform from pilot to commercial scale, JuiceInnov8 said.
The company added that it was working with food and beverage brands and suppliers across Asia and North America.
“Consumers are starting to seriously look for better and healthier food and drinks, from less sugar, less fat, less sodium to more nutritious with functional health benefits. While food is a massive sector with thousands of products available, an innovation that occurs in a singular product is not enough to catch up with the disrupted change in consumer behaviour,” said JuiceInnov8 co-founder and CEO Sean Chonchayong Trairatkeyoon.
JuiceInnov8 was incubated through a spate of accelerator programmes globally, including DigEatAll, a food startup incubator in Spain; TERRA, a food and agri-tech accelerator in Silicon Valley; and Plug and Play.
The company had raised a seed round of $500,000 led by Intania Open Innovation Club, a venture fund investing in Chula Engineering alum-led companies, and a former top executive of a global beverage brand.
Part of JuiceInnov8&#8217;s technology is based on research by a food biotech professor at Thailand&#8217;s Chulalongkorn University. Further tech development and scale-up were done in collaboration with the Department of Chemical Engineering at Chulalongkorn University.
“Consumers globally are becoming more cautious of sugar and its impact on health. JuiceInnov8’s proprietary technology leverages this trend by allowing people to enjoy and benefit from the flavor and nutrients of fruit and vegetable juices while avoiding the damage caused by sugar to the human body,” says Vishal Harnal, general partner at 500 Startups.
Southeast Asia, Trairatkeyoon said, has a lower cost of operating and development compared to the US or other regions, providing JuiceInnov8 with the cost advantage in scaling the technology. The company aims to launch a new category of reduced sugar juice in the market next year.

Thai biotech startup JuiceInnov8 bags funding from 500 Startups

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