UPL announces long-term collaboration with Chr. Hansen to develop and commercialize microbial solutions for sustainable agriculture

- UPL is the largest manufacturer and distributor of biosolutions worldwide, fifth-largest agribusiness globally.

- Chr. Hansen is the owner of one of the world's largest commercial collections of bacteria, with more than 28,000 strains

- The biosolutions market set to grow to $10bn* USD by 2025 as consumers demand more sustainable food systems

UPL Ltd. ('UPL') (NSE: UPL) (BSE: 512070), a world-leading champion of sustainable agriculture and OpenAg™, has announced a long-term strategic collaboration with Chr. Hansen, a global bioscience company, to develop microbial-based biosolutions (including biostimulants and biopesticides) that will help growers around the world fight pests and diseases, and improve crop quality and yields.

Through this collaboration, UPL will use its global presence to undertake research and identify opportunities and product concepts to address farmers' pain points. From these insights, Chr. Hansen will design biological products based on their microbial capabilities and UPL will register and commercialize these products via its extensive global distribution network.

UPL is the world's largest manufacturer and distributor of biosolutions, and earlier this year launched 'NPP – Natural Plant Protection' – a new global business unit championing UPL's comprehensive portfolio of natural and biologically derived agricultural inputs and technologies.

Vicente Gongora, Chief Marketing Officer at UPL Ltd. said:

"Biosolutions are a core pillar of our global purpose and work to reimagine sustainability – for food systems, for farmers, and for our environment. Building on the launch of NPP earlier in the year, we are proud to partner with Chr. Hansen to further expand our portfolio of products and technologies – and to offer new and sustainable solutions for more farming communities. 

"Consolidating our distribution networks and R&D facilities alongside Chr. Hansen's unique microbial experience and expertise presents a powerful opportunity to change the game for farmers and for sustainable agriculture globally. We look forward to sharing more news on the biological solutions that we are developing for the future, and we are excited about the legacy we will build together."

Kim Christensen, Vice President of Plant Health at Chr. Hansen said:

"UPL is a significant distributor of biosolutions worldwide. Combining that with Chr. Hansen's significant innovations in research and development, as well as our unique microbial capabilities and ability to breed our own bacteria, will mean better, targeted products that can go to market faster. The partnership is an important step in our 2025 strategy of growing a better world naturally. In essence, the collaboration aims to establish a product pipeline that has the best interests of farmers at heart."

The UPL-Chr. Hansen partnership has already identified several projects relevant to farmers globally and aims to develop a product pipeline for all major crops that will enable farmers to fight crop diseases and increase their yields. The companies are expecting the first registrations to start coming by the end of 2022.