Kultured

What Kultured does

Kultured (legal entity SIGURD BV) is a Belgian fermentation biotechnology company founded in 2021 by brothers Sander Wuyts, a microbiologist with a doctorate and more than seven years of fermentation experience, and Thomas Wuyts, an economist working as a tax consultant. The company's core technology is Kultured-001, a freeze-dried vegetable fermentation starter culture composed of carefully selected lactic acid bacteria and positioned as the only dedicated vegetable fermentation starter in Europe. Its differentiating technical claims — reaching a safe pH below 4.5 within one day, excluding Levilactobacillus brevis to prevent biogenic amine formation, and delivering consistent microbial composition across batches — are backed by laboratory experiments conducted in collaboration with Prof. dr. ir. Sarah Lebeer at the University of Antwerp.

The commercial product portfolio has historically centred on two channels. The first is a B2C e-commerce webshop selling Fermentation Boxes (Standard and Deluxe) that bundle the starter culture with Weck-style fermentation pots, ceramic weights, recipe booklets, and pH testers; pricing was reduced from €27.99 to €19.99 per sachet in late 2022 and further to €8.00 per sachet thereafter. The second is a B2B channel supplying the starter culture directly to European manufacturers of kimchi, sauerkraut, and pickles who need controlled fermentation to scale industrial production, with custom pricing, free trial packages, and reportedly multi-year contracts. Distribution was bootstrapped via the April 2021 Krautfunding crowdfunding campaign on Ulule, which reached its €5,000 goal on launch evening, and customer acquisition has leaned on content marketing (a Dutch-language blog with fermentation and recipe content), Instagram (@get_kultured), email newsletter, and earned media including a feature on VRT's Dagelijkse Kost.

On 2 March 2026, Kultured announced the closure of its B2C webshop after five years and an exclusive pivot to B2B professional sales. The company is now positioned as a niche industrial ingredient supplier with a single proprietary SKU, a two-person founding team headquartered in Mechelen, Belgium, and a small but reportedly growing European B2B customer base. No patents, certifications, or institutional funding have been disclosed, and revenue figures are not publicly available.

Name

Kultured

Legal name

SIGURD BV

Website

https://kultured.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kultured (SIGURD BV) is a Belgian fermentation biotechnology company that produces Kultured-001, Europe's only dedicated vegetable starter culture, supplying it to industrial kimchi, sauerkraut, and pickle producers after discontinuing its B2C webshop in March 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fermentation Starter Cultures

NAICS

Food Manufacturing (311)

SIC

Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Vegetable fermentation starter
• Lactic acid bacteria cultures
• Fermentation box kits
• Controlled vegetable fermentation
• Kimchi sauerkraut production

Headquarters

HQ city

Mechelen

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. B2C Product Sales: Sale of Fermentation Boxes (standard and deluxe), starter cultures, fermentation pots, fermentation weights, and recipe booklets through the company's e-commerce webshop. B2C operations are being discontinued in favour of B2B.
2. B2B Starter Culture Sales: Sale of starter cultures to European vegetable fermentation producers (kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles manufacturers) to help them control fermentation during scale-up. This is the primary focus going forward.
3. Workshops: In-person and group workshops on vegetable fermentation were offered, including at humus x hortense.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kultured develops and sells Kultured-001, a proprietary freeze-dried vegetable fermentation starter culture made of carefully selected lactic acid bacteria, claimed to be the only vegetable fermentation starter in Europe. The starter dominates fermentation, lowers pH below 4.5 within about one day, and prevents harmful bacteria from surviving. Originally bundled into Fermentation Boxes (Standard and Deluxe) for home users, the company is pivoting to supply the starter culture directly to European industrial producers of kimchi, sauerkraut, and pickles who need controlled fermentation during scale-up.

Product overview

Kultured is a Belgian fermentation products company operating through SIGURD BV. Their core product is the Kultured Startercultuur, a vegetable fermentation starter culture that is unique in Europe, developed based on scientific research. They offer two main product tiers: Fermentation Boxes (Standard and Deluxe) for B2C consumers, which bundle the starter culture with fermentation pots, recipe booklets, and optional pH testers; and professional-grade starter cultures for B2B food producers. The company also sells individual components (fermentation pots, ceramic weights) and provides workshops. In March 2026, they announced closing their B2C operations to focus exclusively on B2B professional sales.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kultured Starter Culture (Kultured Startercultuur) A freeze-dried sachet of carefully selected beneficial lactic acid bacteria for vegetable fermentations, used by home cooks and professionals to make kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles, and other lacto-fermented vegetables.
• Fermentation Box Standard A complete home fermentation starter kit containing a 1L fermentation pot, the Kultured starter culture sachet, a recipe booklet, and clear instructions. Consumer adds their own vegetables from local farmers or supermarket.
• Fermentation Box Deluxe Premium fermentation starter kit including fermentation pot, the Kultured starter culture sachet, recipe booklet, pH testers, and additional accessories for a complete fermentation experience.
• Recipe Booklet Instruction booklet with fermentation recipes and clear instructions, bundled with the Fermentation Boxes.
• pH Testers (Zuurtegraadtesters) pH testing strips for monitoring fermentation acidity levels; successful fermentation should reach pH below 4.6. Included in the Deluxe Fermentation Box.
• Fermentation Weights (Fermentatiegewichten) Ceramic fermentation weights (80mm diameter, designed for 100mm Weck pots) that keep vegetables submerged under brine to prevent mold and ensure anaerobic fermentation.
• Fermentation Workshops In-person and group workshops on vegetable fermentation, teaching techniques such as making sauerkraut, kimchi, and other vegetable ferments. Offered to home cooks and food enthusiasts and bundled with Krautfunding campaign rewards.
• Vegetable Starter Culture for Professionals (B2B) B2B-grade starter culture tailored for professional vegetable fermentation operations, helping producers control fermentation processes during scaling up of kimchi, sauerkraut, and pickle production. Sold directly to European manufacturers with free trial packages available.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reaches safe pH level (<4.5) in 1 day vs. 3 days for spontaneous fermentation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• humus x hortensecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2021Award-winning vegan restaurant in Brussels (Gault & Millau 15/20, 'Beste Groentechef' for Nicolas Decloedt, green Michelin star 2021). Partnered with Kultured during the Krautfunding campaign, offering a 'MICHELIN WAT?! DUO' reward including a workshop and exclusive dinner for funders. Both companies share a focus on fermentation as a culinary technique and zero-waste vegetarian cooking. The partnership reinforced Kultured's positioning at the intersection of professional gastronomy and home fermentation.
• UlulecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerEuropean crowdfunding platform (ulule.com) used by Kultured to launch the company in April 2021 via the Krautfunding campaign. The campaign raised €5,000 in a single evening, well exceeding its goal. Ulule provided the platform for community-backed product launch.
• Universiteit Antwerpen (Prof. dr. ir. Sarah Lebeer)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership with the laboratory of Prof. dr. ir. Sarah Lebeer at the University of Antwerp. The collaboration provided scientific validation of the starter culture's effectiveness, including pH and bacterial count experiments (Figures 1 and 2) comparing Kultured-001 against other starters and spontaneous fermentation. This scientific backing is a key differentiator for the company's marketing claims.
• VRT - Dagelijkse Kost (Jeroen Meus)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerFeatured on the popular Belgian TV program Dagelijkse Kost (VRT) hosted by Jeroen Meus, where Kultured Kraut was used in a cordon bleu recipe. This media appearance provided organic PR exposure to a broad Belgian cooking audience.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cultures for Health: Direct-to-consumer and small-business supplier of starter cultures and fermentation supplies in North America. Comparable to Kultured as a starter culture specialist, though Cultures for Health focuses on dairy, kombucha, and generic vegetable cultures rather than a proprietary vegetable-only formulation.
• Wildbrine: US-based producer of fermented vegetable products including sauerkraut and kimchi. Comparable as a downstream industrial vegetable fermentation producer that could adopt a starter culture like Kultured's.
• The Brinery: Specialized vegetable fermentation producer (sauerkraut, kimchi, hot sauces) that has pioneered controlled fermentation at scale. Comparable as a representative B2B customer in the segment Kultured is targeting.
• Farmhouse Culture: Producer of fermented vegetable products (sauerkraut, kimchi, gut shots) using controlled fermentation. Comparable as a downstream user of controlled vegetable fermentation techniques, representing the type of branded producer Kultured could supply at industrial scale.
• Real Pickles: US-based fermented vegetable producer farming-and-fermenting sauerkraut, kimchi, and other vegetables. Comparable as a potential downstream B2B customer archetype for Kultured's starter culture.
• White Labs: Specialist fermentation culture supplier founded by a microbiologist, originally for brewing but expanding into food applications. Comparable to Kultured as a vertically-specialized, science-led culture vendor targeting producers who need controlled fermentation outcomes.

Broad incumbents

• Lallemand: Major producer of yeast, bacteria, and fermentation cultures for food and beverage applications. Overlaps with Kultured in supplying fermentation cultures to industrial producers, though Lallemand's portfolio is much broader and not specialized in vegetable fermentation.
• Lesaffre: World leader in yeast and fermentation products with a growing cultures portfolio. Comparable as a fermentation-ingredient supplier to industrial food producers, although Lesaffre's strength is primarily in baking and brewing rather than vegetable fermentation.
• Chr. Hansen (now Novonesis): Global leader in food cultures, probiotics, and enzymes for dairy and broader food applications. Comparable as a much larger supplier of starter cultures, though Kultured is focused on the vegetable fermentation niche where Chr. Hansen does not have a dominant equivalent product.

Emerging players

• Body Ecology: Specialist in fermented foods and probiotic cultures targeted at health-conscious consumers. Comparable to Kultured as a culture-and-fermentation education brand, though focused on human-microbiome health rather than industrial vegetable fermentation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/get_kultured
• Facebookfacebook.com/getkultured.be
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/getkultured

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Kultured