PhytoFoundry launches with plant cell

UK startup PhytoFoundry has emerged from stealth, aiming to produce high-value bioactives through plant cell culture. Incorporated in June 2026, the company is first targeting the premium cosmetics sector, according to founder Samuel Casasola Zamora, PhD.

Casasola Zamora says the new venture's strategy is shaped by lessons from his previous company, Green Bioactives, which ceased operations last year. Former Green Bioactives executive Chris Meaney is also joining PhytoFoundry on a fractional basis to help develop its commercial and fundraising plans.

We achieved huge improvements in yield and productivity, but it was a little too late; we were out of time when we were close to that breakthrough, Casasola Zamora told AgFunderNews regarding Green Bioactives. Meaney added that putting those learnings into place now, alongside a lower burn rate, gives PhytoFoundry a significant opportunity.

Commercial-led strategy

Casasola Zamora states the new company's approach is fundamentally different. "The strategy is commercial-led from day one: product-market fit, customer validation, and capital efficiency built into the foundation, not retrofitted later," he said. Meaney emphasized avoiding distractions, recalling work on an agricultural molecule at Green Bioactives where the volumes and costs were never viable. "It's easy to get lost in the science," he noted.

PhytoFoundry's initial focus is bakuchiol, a plant-derived bioactive used in skincare as a retinol alternative. The startup has a letter of intent from an ingredient manufacturer that currently extracts bakuchiol from plant material but struggles with purifying it from allergens.

The company aims to use plant cell culture to steer metabolism towards the target molecule while minimizing unwanted compounds, simplifying purification. By targeting high-value ingredients first, PhytoFoundry hopes to make the economics work before moving into more price-sensitive markets like food and crop protection.

Cosmetics have lower regulatory barriers and they're willing to pay a premium price, Casasola Zamora explained. He acknowledged that while investors know the technology works, they question its scalability and whether target markets are large enough for venture funding. The retinol replacement market, which bakuchiol could address, is estimated at $1.2-2 billion.

Technical hurdles and solutions

Plant cell culture has been used in pharmaceuticals for decades but scaling it economically for lower-value markets remains challenging. Casasola Zamora outlined key difficulties compared to microbial fermentation: plant cells are larger, more shear-sensitive, tend to clump, and grow more slowly. A typical growth cycle can take two weeks, increasing contamination risks and tying up fermentation capacity.

Cell stability is another major issue. Productivity can deteriorate over repeated passages, making careful cell selection and banking critical. The quality of the cell should be high to start with, Casasola Zamora said. If you have suboptimal cells, they don't grow at predictable rates or they're unstable, then scale up is much more complicated.

PhytoFoundry is emphasizing robust cell line selection and developing cell banking strategies to ensure consistency. The company is also focusing on data capture. If you can capture all the conditions from all the experiments, you can implement some AI approaches to build a model, Casasola Zamora explained. This could compress the development cycle for future cell lines.

The firm hopes to use existing fermentation infrastructure where possible, rather than building bespoke bioreactors. There are also early indications that some cells can be cultured under less stringent sterility requirements, potentially broadening available equipment.

Building the foundation

PhytoFoundry is currently seeking pre-seed funding and has secured HMRC Advance Assurance that its proposed fundraising is likely to qualify for the UK's Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS). It is also applying for grants and establishing collaborations.

A second cofounder with a chemistry background is involved, and several former Green Bioactives staff with plant cell culture expertise have expressed interest in joining if funding is secured. The company is exploring lab space at Imperial College London's White City campus and expects to work with contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) for scale-up.

Plant cell culture is one of the most underutilized platforms in biotechnology, Casasola Zamora stated. I believe it has a transformative role to play in how the world produces high-value biological molecules, and I am committed to taking it there. Some missions take longer than one attempt.