Startup Ideelab launches factory in Brazil to create, supply bioinputs to other brands

The biotechnological solutions startup, Ideelab, will inaugurate a new factory in the southern region of Brazil, it revealed to AgroPages. 

Ronaldo Dalio, CEO and co-founder of the company, said that the goal of the new facility is to create and supply bioinputs to other companies, adding that Ideelab's business model focuses on the B2B segment, catering to bioinput brands that sell to end consumers rather than directly to the market.

Dalio stressed that in response to the significant rise in demand for biological products, annual capacity will be expanded to four to six million liters by 2026. 

The company does not intend to have a "private label" portfolio and, therefore, does not have a sales team, and the core objective of its business is to broaden the range of solutions in the biological market, which is currently dominated by only around 20 microorganisms, he added.

Currently in Brazil, suppliers work with second-generation products, which involves a blend of basic microorganisms, but Ideelab aims to focus on future generations, by utilizing microorganisms with metabolic functions that not necessarily alive, or with activated functions, he further added.

According to Dalio, for the next generations of bioinputs, the main factor will be the "active ingredient," with some already containing peptides and proteins. In the future, products may include genetically edited microorganisms (CRISPR) to enable increased tolerance to associated agrochemicals, for example, as well as RNA vaccines, he added.

He also predicts these technologies to be well-established in the market within five to eight years. Consequently, the company plans to seek new investments to build more specialized factories in the coming years, which will focus on bacteria, fungi and peptides, as well as proteins and RNA, he stressed.

WBGI Venture Builder, which specializes in agribusiness, has already invested BRL500,000, acquiring a 10% stake in Ideelab. Currently, the team comprises over 30 individuals, with 10 holding post-doctoral titles, but there are plans to increase the workforce to around 100 people. Through WBGI's recommendations, the Brazilian foliar input manufacturer, Inquima, also invested in the startup in 2022.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)