Aromyx, a specialist in applying biotechnology and data science to capture unique sensory data, has closed an oversubscribed USD10 million Series A round of financing led by Rabo Food&Ag Innovation Fund and SOZO Ventures.
Existing investors Ulu Ventures, Radicle Growth, Capital Energy and Merus Capital also participated in the round.
Aromyx has developed the largest database of human receptors, ingredients/chemicals and word descriptors in the world using a proprietary biotechnology platform. Aromyx tests consumer products and ingredients against these receptors to quantitatively determine how a person would perceive that product. Aromyx then applies this unique data to understand individual consumers’ perceptions and preferences and help customers design better products. Smell and taste are key factors in the buying decision for any consumer product, yet developers have struggled for centuries with subjective, highly variable data from human testing panels. As many industries move to online sales due to the pandemic and other market drivers, the need for brands to better communicate with and recommend products to their customers has increased dramatically. The drive for more sustainable ingredients and products has further challenged brands to improve on traditional product development cycles to meet consumer demand. These factors have created an explosion of demand for Aromyx’s testing services and actionable consumer insights.
Aromyx tested over 100 products for customers in 2020, and is on track to more than triple that number in 2021 as capacity ramps up. The Series A funding will be used to help Aromyx increase capacity and automation capabilities, generate more data, improve AI algorithms, and expand its lab and software teams to meet this growing industry demand.
“The key to unlocking the promise of biotechnology and data science’s role in driving product creation and reformulation is understanding the nuances. Aromyx’s technology allows consumer preferences to be understood from a geographic to individual level, and map perception across products,” says Richard O’Gorman, MD Rabo Food&Ag Innovation Fund. “Aromyx can have a dramatic impact on the speed at which sustainable and healthier food products reach the market. As food producers continuously reformulate products to become healthier and more sustainable, Aromyx’s technology can help determine which innovations will best meet consumer demand, allowing healthier, tasty and successful products to reach the market faster. Cracking the code on measuring scent and taste perception has set Aromyx up to be able to understand consumer preferences around entirely new categories like alternative proteins, understand the emotional aspects of food and flavour, and recommend products consumers can’t taste or smell before purchase. We are blown away by the promise of their technology and look forward to helping fuel their continued growth.”
How two people perceive smell and taste can be highly variable and is something we lack the ability to communicate in a precise and accurate way. Aromyx’s sensing technology is the first to digitize and quantify the information from the human receptors from the nose and tongue. By capturing the highly sensitive detection ability of these receptors, Aromyx delivers data that will change how companies design products, target demographics, forecast trends, and solve global issues around health and sustainability. Aromyx’s products and services are in use at multiple Fortune 500 companies, in pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food & beverage and consumer packaged goods.
“We are thrilled to have the world’s largest food and ag investment bank alongside a group of highly regarded venture firms on our team as we help brands make better products through the delivery of impactful consumer insights and move to offer entirely new services to our clients based on our unique data,” says Josh Silverman, CEO, Aromyx. “The pandemic did much to accelerate the demand for our technology-from shining a light on the limitations of tasting panels, to food and beverage companies and others looking for online recommendation engines to help hesitant consumers confidently buy something they can’t taste or smell before purchase. The challenge now is to keep pace with demand, and that’s certainly a good problem to have.”
