Meridian Biotech

What Meridian Biotech does

Meridian Biotech, doing business as Meridian Integrated Technologies and headquartered at 182 Turner Commons Way, Suite 110 in Lexington, Kentucky, is an industrial biotechnology company that has developed a proprietary upcycling platform for converting low-value by-products from fermentation industries into multi-functional feed ingredients. The technology is applied primarily to spent grains generated by distilleries and breweries, and is operationalized through a dedicated $40 million production facility being built in Frankfort, Kentucky in partnership with Buffalo Trace Distillery. The company markets four feed ingredient products — DY-Pro, MRD-Pro, NuGrainz, and Struphyte — each positioned as a functional nutritional input for major and niche global feed markets. Operational footprint is reported at 11-50 employees, with an announced 35 incremental high-wage roles tied to the Frankfort plant.

Name

Meridian Biotech

Legal name

Meridian Integrated Technologies

Website

https://meridian-bio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Meridian Biotech is a Lexington, Kentucky industrial biotechnology company that uses a proprietary upcycling platform to convert fermentation industry by-products, primarily spent grains from distilleries such as Buffalo Trace, into multi-functional feed ingredients (DY-Pro, MRD-Pro, NuGrainz, Struphyte) for global feed markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Animal Feed Ingredients

NAICS

Food Manufacturing (311)

akta.pro primary industry

Alternative Protein Snacks, Bars & RTD Nutrition Manufacturing (AFAKAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Pullet Developer / Grower Feed (Replacement Layers) (AFADACAC), Ingredient Blends & Systems / Custom Formulation (Seasoning Systems, Functional Blends) (CRADAOAO)

Keywords

• Industrial biotechnology
• Feed ingredients
• Alternative proteins
• Fermentation byproducts
• Sustainable upcycling

Headquarters

HQ city

The Woodlands

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Feed Ingredient Sales: Production and sale of value-added, multi-functional feed ingredients (DY-Pro, MRD-Pro, NuGrainz, Struphyte) derived from upcycled fermentation by-products to global feed markets

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Meridian Biotech has developed a proprietary platform technology that repurposes (upcycles) low-value by-products from fermentation industries into value-added, multi-functional feed ingredients. Its product line includes DY-Pro, MRD-Pro, NuGrainz, and Struphyte, sold to feed industry buyers across major and niche global markets, with bourbon spent grains secured through a partnership with Buffalo Trace Distillery.

Product overview

Meridian Biotech has developed a platform of sustainable and transformative technologies that repurpose (upcycle) low-value by-products from multiple fermentation industries to produce value-added, multi-functional feed ingredients. Their product portfolio includes four core products: DY-Pro, MRD-Pro, NuGrainz, and Struphyte, each serving various major and niche global markets in the animal feed and nutrition sector.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DY-Pro: Feed ingredient product line
• MRD-Pro
• NuGrainz
• Struphyte

Products and services

• DY-Pro A feed ingredient product produced through Meridian Biotech's proprietary upcycling technology that repurposes low-value by-products from fermentation industries into value-added nutritional inputs for feed industry buyers.
• MRD-Pro A multi-functional feed ingredient produced by upcycling fermentation industry by-products into value-added nutritional components for the animal feed sector.
• NuGrainz A sustainable feed ingredient product developed using Meridian Biotech's platform technology that transforms low-value fermentation by-products into nutritional alternatives for feed markets.
• Struphyte A feed ingredient product within Meridian Biotech's portfolio that utilizes sustainable upcycling processes to convert fermentation by-products into functional nutritional ingredients for the animal feed industry.

Quantifiable outcome

• Global agricultural output must increase by 70% to meet 2050 food demand; proteins being of particular importance

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Buffalo Trace DistillerycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Meridian Biotech is building a $40 million facility in Frankfort, Kentucky to convert Buffalo Trace Distillery's spent grains into alternative proteins and feed ingredients. This partnership enables the upcycling of bourbon distillation byproducts into value-added products.
• University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Meridian Biotech in partnership with UAB was awarded a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Phase 1 grant for a Zebrafish Program research project.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Calysta (FeedKind): Calysta produces FeedKind, a microbial (methanotroph) single-cell protein for aquafeed and livestock; it overlaps Meridian's alternative-protein-for-feed positioning with a distinctive, fermentation-based production route.
• Arbiom: Arbiom produces SylPro, an alternative protein ingredient from wood-derived feedstock for aquaculture and pet food, sharing Meridian's alternative-protein-feed-ingredient thesis via a different upcycling feedstock.
• KnipBio: KnipBio develops single-cell microbial protein feed ingredients for aquafeed using fermentation; comparable to Meridian as an emerging, fermentation-enabled alternative protein player in the feed ingredient market.
• Veramaris: Veramaris produces algal-based omega-3 feed ingredients as a sustainable alternative to fishmeal — emblematic of the upcycled/alternative protein feed category Meridian targets, even though the feedstock and process differ.

Direct peers

• Fluid Quip Technologies: Fluid Quip Technologies provides proprietary technologies (e.g., ProPlus) that upgrade distillers grains from ethanol plants into higher-protein animal feed ingredients, making it the most direct functional peer to Meridian's bourbon-spent-grain-to-feed-protein platform.
• ICM Inc. ICM designs and licenses bio-refinery and fermentation process technologies, including grain fractionation and value-added feed ingredient systems, directly overlapping with Meridian's upcycling process engineering and feed ingredient product focus.
• Darling Ingredients: Darling Ingredients is a global leader in upcycling animal by-products (rendering) into sustainable feed and food ingredients; comparable to Meridian as both monetize low-value industrial by-products into functional feed ingredients at scale.

Broad incumbents

• Alltech: Alltech is a global animal feed and nutrition company producing enzymes, prebiotics, and specialty feed ingredients, making it a broadly comparable incumbent in Meridian's downstream feed ingredient market.
• Cargill Animal Nutrition: Cargill is a global animal feed manufacturer and large producer of DDGS (distillers dried grains with solubles) from ethanol; it competes broadly with Meridian in the alternative protein feed ingredient market and could be both a competitor and a potential channel partner.
• ADM Animal Nutrition: ADM produces and markets distillers grains and other fermentation-derived feed ingredients globally, making it a broad incumbent competitor for any upcycled protein/feed ingredient targeting the same buyer set.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/meridian-biotech
• Xx.com/MeridianBiotech
• Facebookfacebook.com/MeridianBiotech

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Meridian Biotech