Tate & Lyle has set up venture capital fund to support investment in “smart” ingredients after noting the role of sucralose, the no-calorie sweetener, in reviving its fortunes.
The sugar giant is to set aside £25 million over five years to direct at start-ups and small companies championing cutting-edge ingredients or the industrial use of foodstuffs.
The launch of Tate & Lyle Ventures was a “natural next step” after the success of sucralose, which is marketed as Splenda, in fostering a doubling in the price of Tate & Lyle shares over the last year, regaining the company a place among the FTSE 100 list of top London-listed businesses.
While sucralose, which was developed in the 1970s, accounts for a small percentage of Tate & Lyle sales, an expected surge in demand has prompted the company to expand American production facilities and announce a plant in Singapore.
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Joint ventures have already presented Tate & Lyle with Aquasta, a promising fish food developed with Igene, a biotechnology company. A tie-up with DuPont has produced Bio-3G, a compound based on corn which is being used to make textiles.
Mark Robinson, the Tate & Lyle business development director, said that the Ventures arm would allow the company “to stay even closer to external developments” in the sector.
“We believe the opportunities for smart ingredients will offer good investment returns and will fill an important gap in the venture investment market.”