Green Angel Ventures is proud to announce its latest investment in Arda Biomaterials, a chemistry technology company creating high-performance materials from industrial food waste.
Arda has raised £4.05M in its latest round, led by Oyster Bay Venture Capital, alongside Green Angel Ventures, Clean Growth Fund, and Kadmos Capital. The new funding will enable Arda to make advancements in the R&D of its first product, New Grain™, a plant-based, plastic-free, leather-like material derived from spent grain, the byproduct of beer and whisky production.
Unlike most leather-like materials on the market, which rely heavily on petroleum-based plastics like PVC and PU, New Grain™ uses a novel protein-based formulation that avoids plastic.
The investment will also support the commercialisation of New Grain™ across industries such as fashion, automotive, and interiors. With fashion responsible for up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and animal agriculture contributing 14.5%, the leather industry carries an environmental footprint from both sectors. By offering an animal and plastic-free alternative, Arda presents a powerful opportunity to reduce emissions and environmental harm.
Arda has already gained early market traction, launching a showpiece handbag with BEEN London and converting spent grain from Heineken-owned Beavertown Brewery into branded cardholders, a signal of both consumer interest and commercial potential.
Brett Cotten, Co-founder and CEO of Arda, said:
“Breweries and distilleries are more than waste suppliers; they’re global partners with science, scale, and reach. That gives us a unique edge to deliver sustainable materials affordably and at the scale needed to make a meaningful impact across industries.”
Dr TJ Mitchell, Co-founder and CTO at Arda, added:
“New Grain™ has come a long way since the first experiments in my kitchen, and it now looks and performs as a viable new material for those who want to see something different than animal-derived materials or plastic. We can’t wait to see it in more products.”
Cam Ross, CEO of Green Angel Ventures, said:
“It’s rare that a young founder impresses our members as well as TJ when he first pitched Arda Biomaterials. We had a large number of angels keen to invest in their early round and support their journey. We feel Arda’s innovation is critical; with the amount of raw resources that society is consuming along with the associated effect on climate change, new alternatives are vital. It’s even better when they look this good.”
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