From Startup to Scale-up: Fyteko expands its horizons

It is easy for a start-up to think disruptively when developing a product but steering that disruption through to market requires well-thought strategies and significant investments in industrialization, production, R&D and commercialization. 

Fyteko offers biosolutions to help farmers face climate change by strengthening plants' resistance to abiotic stress. The company is expanding ambitiously, aided by the completion at the end of 2024 of a €13 million fundraise to accelerate the transition to sustainable agriculture with its innovative products. This Series B was led by Crédit Mutuel Impact, with participation from SFPIM, Supernova, IMBC and support from Finance&Invest Brussels, EIT Food, and other existing shareholders.

How can crop production best respond to global warming and tackle the increasing frequency of droughts? Ten years ago, a promising solution emerged in Belgium. Successfully tested in both the laboratory and the field, this discovery demonstrated that it is possible to replicate the molecule naturally produced by plants to signal periods of stress, thereby enhancing their resistance. Based on hydroxycinnamic acid oligomers, this technology is now referred to as a 'stress signal molecule' in the industry.

Taking this simple yet ingenious idea, Guillaume Wegria and Juan-Carlos Cabrera founded the Belgian start-up Fyteko in 2014. Since then, it has successfully brought to market two versions of its signal molecule: a foliar spray and a seed coating, known respectively as NURSPRAY^® and NURSEED^®. 

Since 2022, the company has been marketing these biostimulants to major seed companies, plant health and nutrition manufacturers. The products, with their well-defined mode of action and agronomic effects confirmed in several hundred field trials, help crops across Europe to better resist heat and water stress, while significatively increasing yields.

With a mission that combines agronomic performance, economic profitability and environmental protection, Fyteko has focused its efforts on increasing agricultural sustainability. Its goal is to help feed a growing population in the context of limited arable land, the impact of climate change on yields, and the need to preserve biodiversity. 

Guillaume Wegria and Juan-Carlos Cabrera, co-founders of Fyteko (Photo by Christophe Gillot)

″Our solutions support farming’s transition: easily integrated into farmers' daily practices, effective, and economically viable,″ says Guillaume Wegria, CEO of Fyteko.

The company is consolidating its structure and preparing for the next phase of growth.

″The €13 million fundraise round is a means to an end,″ confirms Guillaume Wegria, explaining that one-third will be dedicated to industrial development, and a second third to business development and team expansion. 

″The remaining third is for ongoing research and development,″ he says, ″with particular focus on two further molecules in the development pipeline.″ 

″The first enables us to reduce the use of conventional plant protection products. By lowering the dose of herbicides or fungicides, we can reduce environmental impact and improve resource-use efficiency. The solution would also increase the effectiveness of current bioherbicides, potentially improving their cost-effectiveness.″ 

″The third molecule is a biopesticide, a category which demands extensive investment both in R&D and regulatory matters.″

While Europe remains Fyteko's core market, the company is also looking to establish its products in the countries that are the biggest producers of crops like soybeans and maize – staples in which Fyteko’s biomolecule has demonstrated great value. Thus a subsidiary in Brazil launched in 2024, and the United States will be the focus for 2025.

The future promises to be exciting and transformative for Fyteko. Driven by a team of 20 employees with a strong scientific DNA, the company will continue to drive innovation by developing sustainable biosolutions to support the future of crop production around the globe.

About FYTEKO

FYTEKO, a Belgian company founded in 2014, has developed an innovative enzymatic synthesis technology based on patented biosourced molecules (oligomers of hydroxycinnamic acids, initially extracted from plants). This technology makes it possible to produce biostimulants, biological optimizers for herbicides and biopesticide molecules, responding to crucial challenges: feeding a growing world population while optimizing the use of limited arable land, and promoting sustainable agriculture. These developments also help to mitigate and adapt agriculture to the effects of climate change, while preserving biodiversity. After several years of research and development, Fyteko has validated over 500 field trials, filed six families of patents, and in 2024 treated over 500,000 hectares with its products, improving crop yields and tolerance to drought.

More information on fyteko.com