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Copenhagen, Germany-based fermentation start-up Reduced has secured €6 million in a financing round led by Novo Holdings. Reduced uses fermentation technology to transform food and agriculture industry side streams into natural food ingredients, specialising in developing flavour enhancers based on upcycled raw materials. The round was joined by Nordic flavour house Einar Willumsen, as well as existing investors Export and Investment Fund of Denmark and Rockstart Agrifood. The funding will be used to develop Reduced’s technology platform, broaden its savoury ingredients portfolio, secure production capacity, implement certifications and increase the company’s sales and marketing efforts. The company, which was founded in 2020, has developed proprietary fermentation processes to derive 'unique’ umami flavours from food industry side streams at low costs, due to shortened process time scales, and with a significantly lower CO2 impact than conventional methods. The tech enables the extraction of the savoury umami flavours from both vegetable and animal side streams, which it converts into clean label ingredients using fermentation. Co-founder and CEO of Reduced, Emil Munck de Voss, said: “This investment will be transformative for the company as we expand and extend the range of products we can offer, drawing on our gastronomic heritage to create unique flavours. Not only will this bring great new products to the market, but it will also help to reduce CO2 emissions and make the most of the side streams available in the food production chain. We are ready to continue the work we have started and accelerate the impact we can make on the food industry." Reduced currently supplies more than 100 foodservice businesses and delivers ingredients to food manufacturers in collaboration with food ingredient suppliers. Its range of products include organic chicken stock concentrates made from retired laying hens, a stock concentrate made from vegetables that don't meet the appearance or size criteria of supermarkets and fermented umami sauces. Thomas Grotkjær, partner, bioindustrial investments at lead investor Novo Holdings, commented: "Reduced brings an exciting combination of strong Nordic cuisine and fermentation technology to the growing trend of sustainability in food production. With delicious natural products, that are already in demand from over 100 customers, we are pleased to support the Reduced team in their journey from innovative start-up to industrial scale." Jan Grøndal, CEO of Einar Willumsen, added: "Reduced has the potential to make a significant impact in the food ingredients industry and we want to be a part of that. We are impressed by the company's ability to convert technology to commercial products and their approach to flavour creation. In Denmark, we have a tradition for creating high-value food ingredients companies, and we strongly believe Reduced could be the next one." Reduced featured as FoodBev's 'Start-up of the month' in December. Read the exclusive interview with CEO and co-founder Emil Munck de Voss, here.