Sparxell plant-based colourant specialist gets €1.9m European innovation grant
LVMH -backed plant-based colourant technology pioneer Sparxell has secured a €1.9 million grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) to double product development.
The Cambridge-based company, which aims to accelerate market adoption of its sustainable colourant technology across fashion and cosmetics, said the new funding 'position[s] the company to overcome critical technical barriers in scaling its world-first, natural colourants'.
The 'prestigious funding recognises Sparxell's breakthrough technology as part of the Council's mission to identify, develop, and scale up disruptive innovations that address global challenges' while 'positioning the company to capture a significant share of the growing $48 billion colourants market', it added.
Sparxell's biodegradable pigments claim to deliver 'stunning colourant results that outperform synthetic alternatives', without the use of fossil-based chemicals. And since spinning out of the University of Cambridge in 2023, it has gained 'rapid' commercial validation through over 25 fully-funded pilot projects with global brands across diverse industrial sectors, it says.
With the company approaching its first million in sales, the EIC grant will 'prime Sparxell for exponential growth in the booming colourants sector', allowing it to scale to tonne-level production in 2025, 'in preparation for its first commercial launch with leading brands and manufacturers'.
Since joining LVMH's La Maison des Startups accelerator programme, Sparxell said it has quickly established itself in the luxury market, connecting with the luxury goods group's heritage brands including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Givenchy and Loewe.
Dr Benjamin Droguet, Sparxell founder and CEO, said: "This [EIC] funding is transformative for Sparxell, allowing us to accelerate our manufacturing scale-up and overcome key technical challenges much earlier in our development pathway.
'With our plant-based technology, we're offering industries a fundamentally different approach to colour that works with nature rather than against it while meeting the highest performance standards.'
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