Probenda receives six-figure seed financing

BMH Beteiligungs-Managementgesellschaft Hessen mbH has joined Probenda GmbH as lead investor. The start-up produces a sustainable alternative protein source for livestock feed.

Wiesbaden - The South Hessian startup focuses on the development of an upcycling process in which high-quality agricultural raw materials such as animal feed and fertilizer are obtained from organic residues with the help of insects. The company plans to use the capital raised in the upper six-figure range to expand its production facility. The aim is to switch from a batch-based process to continuous processing and to automate feeding and harvesting.

Our vision is to start Series A in around two years' time and thus drive forward the construction of large-scale plants.

Luisa Benning, founder of Probenda

The company, based in Pfungstadt, Hesse, was founded in 2020 by Luisa and Christian Benning with the aim of making agriculture more sustainable. Currently, around 70 percent of agricultural land worldwide is used for the production of animal feed. At the same time, around a third of the food produced for human consumption ends up unused in waste or biogas plants, with a large proportion being lost during production. Probenda's upcycling process makes it possible to reintroduce these residual materials into the cycle and thus sustainably reduce the need for newly produced animal feed, especially soy and fishmeal, using regional resources.

We are delighted to be able to accompany and support the journey of the two visionary founders and their team from the very beginning.

Lena Lang, Investment Manager BMH

Probenda, which works with a sustainable business model, has already been awarded the Hessian Founder Award 2022 and the Green and Social Impact Award for Sustainable Nutrition 2023. These accolades reflect Probenda's impressive rapid development: while the start-up was still producing one box of larvae per day in its own cellar in 2020, the current facility was already set up at the beginning of 2021. In November 2021, Probenda was the first German company to receive approval to use the black soldier fly for the production of farm and pet food in accordance with Regulation 1069/2009 and has been producing around half a tonne of larvae per day at full capacity ever since