What Koralo does

Koralo is a Munich-based food technology startup founded in 2022 that develops a proprietary ingredient platform based on the co-fermentation of microalgae and mushroom root. The resulting ingredient is positioned as a clinically validated functional component that delivers gut health benefits — including digestive comfort, mood, and energy support in humans, and gut integrity, immunity, and performance improvements in farmed aquatic species and companion animals.

The company's product portfolio is organized into two core lines. The human nutrition line targets food and beverage manufacturers across beverages, snacks, dairy, bakery, confectionary, superfoods, and supplements, supplying an ingredient designed to enrich everyday consumer products with clinically backed functional claims. The animal health line supplies feed ingredient formulations for aquaculture (farmed fish and shrimp) and pet food manufacturers, with claimed outcomes including reduced mortality, improved growth rates at low fishmeal content, and reduced chronic health risks in companion animals. A newer product, New F!sh, extends the microalgae technology into the plant-based fish alternative category.

Koralo operates a B2B ingredient supply model, selling directly to enterprise food and feed manufacturers through a sales-led go-to-market motion. The company does not disclose pricing publicly and has no named customer logos in the available data. It has raised approximately $3.54M to date across a 2022 Korean accelerator prize, a 2023 seed round led by GGF, and a 2023 non-dilutive grant from the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. The company has been recognized through the K-Startup Grand Challenge 2022 and selection for the inaugural Maine Blue Biotech Studio cohort.

Name

Koralo

Legal name

Koralo

Website

https://koralo-foods.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Koralo is a Munich-based food tech startup founded in 2022 that supplies proprietary co-fermented microalgae and mushroom root ingredients to food, beverage, aquafeed, and pet food manufacturers for gut health applications in humans and animals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Functional Food Ingredients

NAICS

Food Manufacturing (311), Animal Food Manufacturing (3111), Dog and Cat Food Manufacturing (311111)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000), Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultures, Probiotics & Fermentation Ingredients (Starter Cultures, Yeast, Adjuncts) (CRADAOAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Nutraceuticals & Functional Ingredients for Animal Diets (Probiotics, Omega-3, Joint, GI) (HLAMAHAH), Yeast Products & Fermentation Metabolites (Yeast Culture, MOS/β-Glucans) (AFADALAM)

Keywords

• Functional food ingredients
• Gut health ingredients
• Microalgae fermentation
• Aquafeed solutions
• Co-fermented ingredients

Headquarters

HQ city

München

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Ingredient sales to food manufacturers: Koralo sells its proprietary co-fermented microalgae and mushroom root ingredients as functional food and feed ingredients to food, beverage, and feed manufacturers. Revenue is derived from ingredient supply agreements with consumer product brands integrating Koralo into their formulations (human nutrition: beverages, snacks, dairy, bakery, confectionary, superfoods, supplements; animal health: aquafeed, pet food).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Koralo produces proprietary co-fermented microalgae and mushroom root ingredients that deliver clinically proven gut-health benefits, sold B2B to food, beverage, and feed manufacturers. The Human Nutrition line enriches everyday consumer products (beverages, snacks, dairy, bakery, confectionary, superfoods, supplements) with digestive-comfort, mood, and energy benefits, while the Animal Health line delivers gut-health benefits for aquafeed and pet food, reducing mortality and boosting growth in farmed fish and shrimp. The same ingredient platform also enables a plant-based fish alternative product (New F!sh).

Product overview

Koralo is a food technology company offering a unified proprietary ingredient platform based on co-fermented microalgae and mushroom root extracts. The company operates two core product lines: Human Nutrition (food ingredients for consumer products including beverages, snacks, bakery, dairy, confectionary, superfood, and supplements) and Animal Health (feed ingredients for aquaculture and pet food). Both product lines center on the same clinically-proven gut health ingredient, delivering digestive comfort, mood enhancement, and energy benefits. The human nutrition line enriches everyday consumer products, while the animal health line strengthens gut integrity in farmed fish, shrimp, and companion animals to reduce mortality, boost growth rates, and extend quality of life.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Human Nutrition Food Ingredient Proprietary co-fermented microalgae and mushroom root ingredient for human nutrition, enriching everyday consumer products such as beverages, snacks, bakery, dairy, confectionary, superfood, and supplements with clinically backed gut health, mood, and energy benefits. Sold B2B to food, beverage, and supplement manufacturers.
• Animal Health Feed Ingredient Feed ingredient delivering gut health benefits to aquafeed and pet food, reducing chronic health risks and lowering costs while driving vitality, performance, and longevity in farmed fish, shrimp, and companion animals. Sold B2B to aquafeed and pet food manufacturers.
• New F!sh Plant-based fish alternative product enabled by Koralo's microalgae ingredient technology, positioned as a seafood substitute within Koralo's human nutrition portfolio.

Quantifiable outcome

• Clinically proven to support digestive comfort, mood, and energy in humans
• +3 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Corbion: Corbion is a Dutch fermentation-derived ingredient company producing lactic acid, algae-based ingredients, and functional food/feed ingredients. It is a broad incumbent peer in fermentation-derived functional ingredients for food and animal nutrition.
• Novonesis: Novonesis (formerly Chr. Hansen) is the global leader in microbial and fermentation-based cultures, enzymes, and probiotics for food, animal health, and plant health. It is the closest broad incumbent comparable to Koralo in terms of fermentation-based functional ingredients for gut health across human and animal nutrition.
• Lesaffre: Lesaffre is a global leader in yeast and fermentation products, with a growing portfolio in human nutrition, animal nutrition, and aquaculture through its Gnosis by Lesaffre and Phileo business lines. Comparable to Koralo as a fermentation-based functional ingredient platform spanning food and feed.
• ADM (Animal Nutrition): ADM is one of the world's largest ingredient suppliers, with a substantial animal nutrition and aquafeed business. It is a broad incumbent comparable to Koralo in B2B functional feed ingredients and pet food, with significantly greater scale and distribution reach.
• Phileo (Lesaffre animal nutrition): Phileo is Lesaffre's animal nutrition and health business, producing yeast-based probiotics, postbiotics, and functional feed ingredients for aquaculture, pet food, and livestock. It is a direct competitor to Koralo's Animal Health ingredient line.

Direct peers

• Cyanotech: Cyanotech is a US-based microalgae producer specializing in spirulina and astaxanthin for human nutrition and aquafeed. It is a direct comparable to Koralo's microalgae ingredient base, although Koralo's co-fermentation with mushroom root differentiates its offering.
• Veramaris: Veramaris (a DSM-Evonik joint venture) produces algae-based omega-3 (EPA and DHA) for aquafeed and human nutrition. It is a direct peer in algae-derived functional ingredients for gut and metabolic health in farmed fish, addressing the same aquafeed cost and antibiotic-reduction pain points as Koralo.
• Lallemand: Lallemand is a privately held Canadian company producing yeast, bacteria, and fungi-based ingredients for baking, brewing, human nutrition, and animal feed/aquafeed. It is a direct competitor to Koralo in fermentation-derived functional ingredients targeting gut health and aquafeed performance.

Emerging players

• AquaBounty / Aquaculture feed ingredient startups: AquaBounty is a publicly listed aquaculture biotech company. While focused on genetically engineered salmon rather than feed, it represents the broader emerging aquaculture biotech category where Koralo's aquafeed ingredient offering competes for investor attention and partnership with feed formulators.
• KnipBio: KnipBio is an emerging player producing single-cell protein from methylotrophic bacteria for aquafeed. It is comparable to Koralo as a microbial/algal alternative protein and functional feed ingredient targeting gut health and growth in farmed fish.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Koralo