What Zintinus does

Zintinus GmbH is a Berlin-based venture capital fund founded in 2022 that invests exclusively in the food technology sector, deploying growth capital at Series A, A+ and B stages primarily into European startups. The firm is registered as Zintinus GmbH at Pappelallee 78/79, 10437 Berlin, under HRB 230596 B at Amtsgericht Charlottenburg, and operates with a small team of 1–10 professionals.

The fund targets four thematic verticals: alternative protein (plant-based meat/dairy, fermentation, cell-cultured), clean nutrition (sugar/fat reduction, clean label), functional food (personalized nutrition, supplements, new ingredients), and food waste (shelf-life extension, side-stream upcycling, monitoring). Its disclosed portfolio of 14+ companies includes Planted, LA VIE, Planet A Foods, NEOH, Kääpä Biotech, KITRO, Blue Stripes, Blue Farm, Mighty, Lykon, PARTAKE, It's Fresh, GEM, and Kraftlings, spanning alternative protein, functional mushrooms, plant-based dairy, nutrition analytics, shelf-life tech and clean energy drinks.

Zintinus generates returns through conventional VC mechanics — equity participation in funding rounds and exits via IPO or acquisition — supplemented by thought-leadership activities including the Future Food Series educational events, the Vienna Impact Investment Forum, a co-authored white paper with Bain & Company titled 'Food Tech: Turning Promise into Opportunity', and an SFDR-compliant fund framework. The competitive positioning rests on three managing directors with senior food-industry and private-equity credentials (Olaf Koch, former CEO of METRO AG; Christian Neuss, 12-year Permira partner; Fabio Ziemssen, former MD of NX-Food/METRO's innovation hub), supplemented by Partner David Brown (Techstars co-founder) and Venture Partner James Moss.

Name

Zintinus

Legal name

Zintinus GmbH

Website

https://zintinus.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Zintinus is a Berlin-based venture capital fund founded in 2022 that invests growth capital into European food technology startups at Series A and B stages across alternative protein, clean nutrition, functional food, and food waste reduction.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Food Tech Investing

NAICS

All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399), Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems Funds (FSANAJAE), Agriculture & Food / AgTech Growth Equity (FSANACAM)

Keywords

• Venture capital fund
• Food tech investing
• Growth capital
• Alternative protein
• Portfolio investments

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Investment Returns: Zintinus generates returns through equity investments in food tech startups. As a VC fund, they invest capital in portfolio companies and seek returns through exits, including IPOs and acquisitions.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Zintinus is a Venture Capital fund that provides growth capital exclusively to companies innovating in the Food Tech sector. The fund invests in Series A, A+ and B rounds of European food technology startups operating in alternative protein, clean nutrition, functional food, and food waste reduction, offering capital alongside food industry expertise and access to a broad expert network.

Product overview

Zintinus is a Venture Capital Fund focused exclusively on innovation in the Food Tech sector. The company provides growth capital, expertise, and access to portfolio companies in the alternative protein, clean nutrition, functional food, and food waste reduction categories. As a VC fund, Zintinus does not offer a unified product platform but rather invests in and supports early-to-growth-stage food technology startups across Europe and select other regions, primarily through Series A, A+, and B funding rounds. The investment focus spans plant-based alternatives, fermentation technologies, functional mushrooms, personalized nutrition, food waste measurement solutions, and sustainable ingredients. The portfolio includes companies such as NEOH (plant-based fiber sugar replacement), KÄPÄÄ (functional mushroom extracts), Planet A Foods (cocoa-free chocolate via ChoViva), Planted (plant-based meat), KITRO (food waste measurement), Blue Stripes (cacao upcycling), La Vie (plant-based fat alternatives), Partake (allergen-free foods), and others.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Food Tech Growth Capital Investment Fund Venture capital fund that provides growth capital combined with food industry expertise, farm-to-fork perspective, and access to a broad expert network for early-to-growth-stage food technology startups across alternative protein, clean nutrition, functional food, and food waste categories in Europe.

Quantifiable outcome

• Techstars portfolio: 3000+ companies funded with approximately $50B aggregate market cap
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Bain & CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerZintinus collaborated with Bain & Company to produce a white paper on 'Food Tech: Turning Promise into Opportunity' that takes a holistic look at the incipient food system transformation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• PeakBridge: European food tech VC that co-invested with Zintinus in Kääpä Biotech. PeakBridge focuses on seed-to-Series A food and agritech, directly overlapping with Zintinus's Series A/B mandate and European geographic focus.
• Five Seasons Ventures: Paris-based early-stage VC investing in European food tech and agritech companies at Series A. Highly comparable to Zintinus in stage, geography, and thematic focus on food system transformation.
• CPT Capital: London-based impact investor focused on food and agriculture technology, backing companies across alternative protein and sustainable food systems. Direct thematic peer with similar Series A/B ticket sizes.
• Unovis Asset Management: New York-based investment firm focused on alternative protein and cellular agriculture companies globally. Direct peer in the alternative protein thesis that defines much of Zintinus's portfolio.
• Big Idea Ventures: Global VC fund and accelerator focused exclusively on alternative protein, plant-based, and cellular agriculture startups. Strongly comparable to Zintinus's alternative protein pillar and similar Series A/B deployment stage.
• Blue Horizon Ventures: Swiss-based VC fund investing across the food value chain with a focus on plant-based and sustainable food. Comparable to Zintinus in European footprint and Series A/B food tech focus.
• Synthesis Capital: Food tech-focused VC that closed a $300M+ fund to invest in alternative protein and food technology companies. Direct peer competing for similar Series A/B food tech opportunities in Europe and globally.
• FoodLabs: Berlin-based early-stage investor and food tech builder. Direct peer sharing Zintinus's home city and Series A focus on European food tech startups.

Broad incumbents

• S2G Ventures: Chicago-based VC with $2B+ AUM investing across food, agriculture, and ocean tech. Comparable category and thesis but at much larger fund size and broader geographic reach than Zintinus.

Emerging players

• Agronomics: London-listed investment company focused on cellular agriculture and alternative protein. Thematic peer in alternative protein but more specialized in cellular/cultivated meat and publicly traded, unlike Zintinus's private fund structure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments11 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Zintinus