Edonia comes up with sustainable dishes for the 21st century

Agriculture has a conspicuous presence in the current climate problem. Largely due to livestock farming, it is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases in France (19%). As such, it is one of the main contributors to climate change and biodiversity loss. At the same time, it is also on the receiving end, being subjected to water restrictions during droughts. This affected 51% of the French territory in 2022, compared with 14% in 2017. The sector is therefore obliged to develop solutions to adapt to this situation.

That means changing everyone's eating habits and making menus more plant-based. But aiming to reduce the amount of meat in our meals is no small matter. It would disrupt the palate of a large number of consumers, who are also sensitive to the texture and colour of the food on their plates. Nevertheless, to encourage this transition to a less meat-based diet, the agri-industry sector is exploring the production of plant-based foods which are similar to meat.

"Microalgae have the potential to bring about this protein transition," confirms Hugo Valentin, CEO and co-founder of start-up Edonia together with Pierre Mignon and AgroParisTech graduate Nicolas Irlinger. Set up by the three of them in 2023, the start-up markets an alternative to meat produced from spirulina, the queen of microalgae, whose outstanding nutritional qualities are superior to those of meat when it comes to protein concentration.
 

No easy solutions for agri-industry

Spirulina is a well-known ingredient in the agri-industry sector, having long been used there. It also has an excellent reputation as a quality dietary supplement. But the sector is confronted with two problems. On the one hand, the existing processes for processing plant-based foods are highly complex. "There are usually multiple steps: extracting the proteins, extruding them, then flavouring them, adding texturising agents, etc. Many players are therefore looking for a more natural approach," explains Hugo Valentin.

On the other hand, agri-industry firms have found that spirulina is not an easy ingredient to incorporate into people's eating habits. "As soon as you try to incorporate spirulina powder into a product, you immediately get something very green, with a rather strong taste and a not very pleasant aroma," the CEO of Edonia concedes. That is why agri-industry is currently looking for nutritious, plant-based alternatives that are both more natural and more appealing in terms of taste and texture. The start-up Edonia is responding to this need.
 

First entrepreneurial venture profitable

To develop its plant-based alternative, the team at Edonia is drawing on the experience it gained during a previous entrepreneurial venture. At the time, the team was working on "sauce products and spreads" based on spirulina, and on marketing them. In collaboration with the Paris-Saclay Food and Bioproduct Engineering laboratory (Say Food - Univ. Paris-Saclay/INRAE/AgroParisTech) and housed within the Food'InnLab at AgroParisTech, the project targeted the Business to Consumer (B2C) market. "We had to build a brand and distribute it," recalls Hugo Valentin. It was during this first venture that the founders came up with the idea for their new spirulina texturing process: "edonisation". While the details of this process remain a secret, it produces an ingredient similar to minced meat, which the team incorporates into steaks or vegetarian lasagne.

When Edonia was set up, the partners decided to stay within the Food'InnLab at AgroParisTech to develop their technology. The project is now being accelerated at CentraleSupélec's accelerator 21st. Thanks to these two incubators linked to Université Paris-Saclay, the Edonia team has access to the scientific networks of this ecosystem, and can take advantage of them to overcome the technical bottlenecks it encounters in the various aspects of development. "With CentraleSupélec, we work on biomass cultivation, and with AgroParisTech, we work more on food processing," Valentin explains.

Convincing proofs of concept and a major fund-raising campaign

Thanks to the rapid development of its technology, Edonia is now entering the pre-commercialisation phase: "We're testing our ingredient with a wide range of manufacturers, including major groups, start-ups and caterers. We're developing proofs of concept with them on their production lines, with a pre-contract and sales negotiation approach."

As the various channels of funding secured for the project's start-up, in particular from BPI France, was no longer sufficient to keep growing, the start-up raised €2 million in May 2024 from investor Asterion Ventures. With these funds, the team is now committed to recruiting staff and building a production line. "This is the time we have to be really focused and realise our objectives on time," stresses the CEO of Edonia.

Industrialisation imminent

These are ambitious targets, and the start-up is committed to a rapid growth trajectory. "We have just completed assembly of our first industrial demonstrator line, and our first deliveries are already scheduled," announces the co-founder. This rapid development bears witness to the speed at which Edonia's technology is maturing, and how it is meeting the needs of the market. "We will be raising funds again in a few months to bring our product to market on a larger scale."

For Hugo Valentin, this speed and the level of ambition can be attributed not only to the relevance of their technology, but also their modified business model. Whereas their first project was to create a brand of food products based on microalgae, distributed in supermarkets, the co-founders chose a Business-to-Business (B2B), ingredient-based model for Edonia. “We produce the ingredient and then sell it by the tonne to agri-industry firms and caterers."

A decisive impact on the menu of the future

In fact, this change of course has given the co-founders a boost: "My biggest motivation is the potential impact of our ingredient. Our positioning puts us in direct competition with minced beef, which means we can target truly massive volumes. Our ambition is to produce large tonnages, with a global vision," enthuses Valentin. The adoption of Edonia's ingredient by agri-industry may then lead to take-up of new, more virtuous eating habits, which are likely to reduce the impact of food on climate change. Habits in the same vein as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and saving water - undeniable trumps in the fight against climate change.