DURHAM – Elo Life Systems, manufacturer of a monk fruit-based sweetener product for use in food and beverages, has hit major milestones in product development and has closed $24.5 million in a Series A funding round.

The company announced the news on Wednesday, and in a statement added that the company is set to open a Series B round later this year.

“With strong investor support united behind Elo’s commitment to improve human health and the environment, we’re unlocking nature’s abilities to make consumers’ favorite foods more delicious, healthy and planet friendly,” said Todd Rands, CEO of Elo, in a statement.  “Elo’s first product – a new plant-based sweetener inspired by natural monk fruit – will eliminate excess calories in thousands of everyday food and beverage products that consumers love.”

Along with the monk fruit sweetener, the company is developing a fungal-resistant cavendish banana, and announced in a statement that it will advance product development to “real-world field trial evaluations.”

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Growth ahead

The funding came from the company’s existing investors, which included AccelR8, Novo Holdings, and DCVC Bio.

According to a statement, the $24.5 million in new funding will enable the company “to accelerate the development of its natural, plant-based sweetener products by advancing U.S. regulatory approvals, building pilot-scale processing capabilities, and market-testing its sweetener with consumers.”

Along with those plans, the company anticipates opening new research and development into other food ingredient products.

The company was spun out of Precision BioSciences in December 2021 to focus on food ingredient research.  At the time of the spin off, the company was already partnering with Dole to develop a resistant banana.

In addition to announcing the funding, the company statement noted that Joan Braca has been appointed to the board of directors as the first independent director.

Braca has prior leadership roles, including as CEO of Johnson Matthey Clean Air, and was previously the president of Tate & Lyle’s Specialty Foods ingredient business.

“This is going to be a pivotal year of growth for Elo,” said Justin Kern, chairman of the board of directors at Elo Life Systems.  “Joan’s executive leadership and industry experience will provide a huge lift as Elo builds and evolves its business to supply healthy ingredients on a global scale.”

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