What Bento lab does

Bento Bioworks Ltd. (doing business as Bento Bio) is a privately held, UK-based scientific instrument company founded in 2013 that designs, manufactures, and sells the Bento Lab — an all-in-one portable molecular biology workstation integrating a 32-well thermocycler, microcentrifuge, gel electrophoresis module, and blue LED transilluminator into a single 3.5 kg device controlled via a Bluetooth companion app. The company began commercial production of the Bento Lab in 2019 and offers two SKUs: the Entry model ($1,599) with fixed-speed centrifuge and fixed-voltage electrophoresis, and the Pro model ($1,999) with variable-speed centrifuge up to 8,000 xg, variable-voltage electrophoresis from 30–120V, and touchdown PCR support. The product is positioned for portable, field-deployable DNA analysis rather than high-throughput benchtop workflows.

The company monetizes through one-time hardware sales complemented by a recurring consumables and reagent catalog — including HotSHOT and Dipstick DNA extraction kits, FIREPol and HOT FIREPol PCR master mixes, GelGreen nucleic acid stain, agarose tablets, DNA barcoding and bird sexing primer sets, and educational kits (Biotechnology 101 Kit, Bird Sexing Materials Starter Kit, Athlete Gene and Lactose Intolerance teaching labs). Distribution is direct-to-customer via an owned e-commerce storefront and institutional purchase orders, with products shipped globally from the UK to 70+ countries.

Bento Bio serves three primary segments: research scientists and academic labs needing portable molecular biology capability, educators and educational institutions (universities, colleges, high schools) seeking accessible teaching equipment, and citizen scientists and bio-makers pursuing open-science and field applications. The company is bootstrapped with 1–10 employees, no disclosed external funding, and 65+ peer-reviewed scientific publications citing its product as third-party validation. Notable institutional users include Tohoku University, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, University of North Dakota, Ulster University, and University of Tunis El Manar.

Name

Bento lab

Legal name

Bento Bioworks Ltd.

Website

https://bento.bio

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Bento Bio is a privately held UK-based scientific instrument company that designs and sells the Bento Lab, an all-in-one portable PCR workstation integrating thermocycler, centrifuge, electrophoresis, and transilluminator modules for researchers, educators, and citizen scientists worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Portable molecular biology instrumentation

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Molecular Biology & Genomics Instruments (PCR/qPCR, Sequencing, Microarrays) (HLAGAIAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Liquid Handling & Laboratory Automation (Pipettes, Robots, Workstations) (HLAGAIAD), Science & STEM Lab Equipment & Supplies (Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Makerspaces) (EDAEAIAC)

Keywords

• Portable PCR workstation
• Molecular biology equipment
• DNA extraction kits
• Field genomics hardware
• PCR reagent kits

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Bento Lab Hardware Sales: One-time sale of the Bento Lab instrument (Entry or Pro model). The primary revenue driver; customers purchase the hardware platform upfront and then repurchase consumables and reagent kits over time.
2. Consumables & Reagent Kits: Recurring revenue from consumables including HotSHOT DNA Extraction Kit, DNA Dipsticks, FIREPol Master Mix, HOT FIREPol Blend, GelGreen, Agarose Tablets, and primers. Customers repeatedly repurchase these as they run experiments.
3. Accessories: Sale of optional accessories such as carrying cases, starter kits (Biotechnology 101 Kit, Bird Sexing Materials Starter Kit), and primers, providing additional one-time and recurring revenue streams alongside the core platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Bento Bio designs, manufactures, and sells the Bento Lab — a compact, all-in-one portable molecular biology workstation that integrates a 32-well thermocycler, microcentrifuge, gel electrophoresis unit, and blue LED transilluminator into a single 3.5 kg device controlled via a Bluetooth mobile app. The company complements the hardware with a proprietary ecosystem of DNA extraction kits, PCR master mixes, gel electrophoresis reagents, primer sets, and educational starter kits, sold worldwide to researchers, educators, and citizen scientists.

Product overview

Bento Bio's product portfolio centers on the Bento Lab — an all-in-one portable PCR equipment suite integrating a 32-well thermocycler, microcentrifuge, gel electrophoresis unit, and blue LED transilluminator into a single 3.5 kg device. Two models are offered: Bento Lab Entry ($1,599) for beginners with fixed-speed centrifuge (2,700 xg) and fixed electrophoresis voltage (50 V), and Bento Lab Pro ($1,999) for researchers with variable-speed centrifuge (up to 8,000 xg), variable electrophoresis voltage (30–120 V), and touchdown PCR capability. This core hardware is complemented by a comprehensive reagent ecosystem (DNA extraction kits — HotSHOT and Dipstick; PCR mastermixes — FIREPol and HOT FIREPol; gel electrophoresis chemicals; DNA barcoding and bird sexing primer mixes) and educational sub-brands (Biotechnology 101 Kit, Lactose Intolerance Teaching Lab, Athlete Gene Teaching Lab, Bird Sexing Materials Starter Kit). Accessories include carrying cases, rotors, gel combs, pipettes, and spare parts. All products are shipped globally from the UK and designed for use in research, field work, and education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bento Lab: All-in-one PCR equipment suite combining thermocycler, centrifuge, gel electrophoresis, and transilluminator modules.

Products and services

• Bento Lab Entry Entry-level all-in-one portable molecular biology workstation combining a 32-well thermocycler (21–99°C, ±0.2°C accuracy), fixed-speed microcentrifuge (2,700 xg, 7,000 rpm, 6×1.5 mL), fixed-voltage gel electrophoresis (50 V), and blue LED transilluminator (468 nm). Weighs 3.5 kg and is targeted at beginners, educators, and educational users needing a compact, portable PCR suite.
• Bento Lab Pro Premium all-in-one portable molecular biology workstation featuring a 32-well thermocycler (12–102°C, ±0.2°C accuracy, touchdown PCR support), variable-speed microcentrifuge (500–8,000 xg, 3,000–13,500 rpm, 6×2 mL tubes), variable-voltage gel electrophoresis (30–120 V), and blue LED transilluminator (468 nm). Weighs 3.5 kg; targeted at professional researchers requiring greater protocol flexibility.
• Bento Lab Refurbished / Seconds Discounted pre-owned or factory-second Bento Lab all-in-one PCR workstation units, offered to maximize budget accessibility for cost-constrained buyers, students, and educational programs.
• Biotechnology 101 Kit An educational genetics starter kit providing everything needed for hands-on introduction to molecular biology and genetics — includes reagents, consumables, and protocol guides covering DNA extraction, PCR, and gel electrophoresis. Priced at $259.
• Bird Sexing Materials Starter Kit A bundled starter kit providing all materials needed for PCR-based bird DNA sexing, including reagents, consumables, and CHD1 gene-based primer mixes. Priced at $299.
• HotSHOT DNA Extraction Kit A rapid, cost-effective DNA extraction kit using the hotSHOT (hot sodium hydroxide and Tris) method. Room-temperature stable and suitable for high-throughput workflows. Priced at $36.50 for 400 reactions.
• Dipstick DNA Extraction Kit A rapid DNA extraction kit delivering PCR-ready DNA in approximately 1 minute from sample; suitable for inhibitor-rich samples. Priced at $48.50 for 100 reactions.
• FIREPol Blend PCR Master Mix A 5× concentrated, ready-to-load PCR mastermix for routine PCR applications. Room-temperature stable and available in 100 µL ($10.00), 400 µL ($24.50), and 1,000 µL ($39.95) sizes.
• HOT FIREPol Blend PCR Master Mix A premium 5× concentrated hot-start PCR mastermix with improved specificity, higher fidelity, and greater PCR-inhibitor tolerance than the standard FIREPol blend. Room-temperature stable; available in 100 µL ($14.45), 400 µL ($48.50), and 1,000 µL ($80.00).
• DNA Barcoding Primer Sets Species-identification primer pairs covering multiple biological kingdoms: Animal/Metazoa (LCO1490/HCO2198), Bird (BirdF1/BirdR1), Fungal (ITS1F/ITS4), and Plant (rbcL-1F/rbcL-724R). Each set priced $21.00–$23.00, designed for DNA barcoding applications in research and citizen science.
• Bird Sexing Primer Mixes Ready-to-use CHD1 gene-based primer mixes for PCR-based molecular sexing of birds, sold in 200-reaction packs at $21.00 each.
• Teaching Lab Primer Mixes Ready-to-use primer mixes for educational laboratory practicals covering Athlete Gene (ACTN3), Bitterness Tasting Gene (TAS2R38), Lactose Tolerance Gene (MCM6), GM Plant Detection (Nos terminator), Meat Detection (Pork/Beef mitochondrial), and Rhesus Blood Group (RH). Each 200-reaction pack priced at $21.00.
• Bento Bio Companion App Free native mobile application (iOS and Android) that connects to Bento Lab over Bluetooth, allowing users to send thermocycler profiles, remotely monitor PCR runs, and install firmware updates.

Quantifiable outcome

• 65+ peer-reviewed scientific publications using Bento Lab
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature6 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Qiagen: Qiagen supplies PCR kits, reagents, and the QIAstat-Dx molecular diagnostics platform. As a major molecular biology incumbent, it competes with Bento's reagent ecosystem and could enter the integrated portable workstation space.
• Ward's Science: Ward's Science supplies science education equipment, reagents, and kits to schools and universities, providing an alternative procurement channel for portable PCR and electrophoresis products targeting the same educational buyers as Bento Lab.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Thermo Fisher is the largest life-science instrumentation company, offering benchtop and connected PCR systems (Applied Biosystems QuantStudio) plus reagents. It is a broad incumbent whose product portfolio overlaps with Bento's research and field applications.
• Bio-Rad Laboratories: Bio-Rad is a major manufacturer of thermal cyclers, electrophoresis systems, and PCR reagents used in both research and education. While not portable, Bio-Rad's educational product line and global distribution compete with Bento in academic and teaching labs.
• Carolina Biological Supply: Carolina is a long-established distributor of educational science supplies and lab equipment, including molecular biology products for K-12 and higher education—an incumbent channel that competes with Bento for educational procurement budgets.

Direct peers

• Edvotek: Edvotek supplies educational molecular biology kits and lab equipment to schools and universities, directly competing with Bento's Biotechnology 101 Kit, teaching labs, and educational consumables in the K-12 and undergraduate market.
• Amplyus (miniPCR): Amplyus's miniPCR is a compact, low-cost PCR thermal cycler widely used in education and field research—sharing Bento Lab's positioning in portable/educational molecular biology and competing for the same classroom, citizen-science, and field-research buyers.

Emerging players

• Oxford Nanopore Technologies: Oxford Nanopore's MinION is a portable nanopore sequencer commonly paired with Bento Lab for end-to-end field genomics. The companies are ecosystem partners and partially serve the same field-research and citizen-science use cases.
• Ubiquitome: Ubiquitome developed a portable, battery-powered real-time PCR device (Liberty 16) targeting field and applied research—an emerging direct competitor in the portable molecular biology category where Bento Lab operates.
• Biomeme: Biomeme produces portable qPCR systems (e.g., Franklin) and connected sample-prep devices for field molecular diagnostics, overlapping with Bento Lab's field-deployable PCR and DNA analysis use cases.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/theBentoLab
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@BentoBio
• Facebookfacebook.com/thebentolab
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bento-bioworks
• Instagraminstagram.com/bentobio

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 Bento lab