Formedium

What Formedium does

Formedium Ltd. is a privately held UK manufacturer of dehydrated powdered culture media, headquartered in Swaffham, Norfolk, and operating under ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications since 2002. The company produces precise blends of amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and growth substrates formulated for bacterial, yeast, and fungal cell cultures, organized into organism-specific product lines covering Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Lactobacilli, Dictyostelium discoideum, and mycology applications including Aspergillus and Fusarium. A distinctive Animal-Free Media range substitutes plant-based Soya Peptone for animal-derived Tryptone, with documented performance parity in E. coli growth. Manufacturing is conducted at a purpose-built UK facility with full batch traceability from 10g to 100kg packaging, and a Technical Services team supports media selection, troubleshooting, and custom formulation guidance.

The business serves academic research institutions and industrial laboratories globally, including named customers such as Harvard, MIT, Columbia, the Universities of Cambridge, Dundee, Manchester, and Colorado State University, alongside the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. Revenue is generated through one-time purchases of standard catalog products priced per unit, combined with professional services revenue from bespoke Custom Made Media collaborations and a Lab Startup Package that offers subscription-style discounts to newly funded laboratories. Distribution combines a direct e-commerce storefront with quote-based ordering in USD, EUR, and GBP with a network of international distributors, enabling shipments to more than 100 countries with standard dispatch in 2-4 working days.

Formedium has no disclosed institutional funding, parent company, subsidiaries, M&A activity, or leadership changes in the available data. The company appears to be founder- or independently owned, with growth pursued through product line extensions (animal-free media, fermentation bioreactor systems), content marketing via a Knowledge blog covering EMBO and scientific community topics, and active international distributor recruitment.

Name

Formedium

Legal name

Formedium Ltd.

Website

https://formedium.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Formedium Ltd. is a UK manufacturer of dehydrated powdered culture media for microbiology research, serving academic and industrial laboratories in more than 100 countries with organism-specific formulations, animal-free alternatives, and custom media services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Life Science Research Reagents

NAICS

Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing (325411)

SIC

Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833)

akta.pro primary industry

Laboratory Consumables & Plasticware (Tips, Tubes, Plates, Filters) (HLAGAIAH)

Keywords

• Dehydrated culture media
• Microbiology research supplies
• Custom powdered media
• Animal-free culture media
• Bacterial yeast fungal media

Headquarters

HQ city

Swaffham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Standard Culture Media Products: One-time product sales of dehydrated powdered culture media to researchers, universities, and industrial laboratories. Products include standard formulations like LB media, Yeast Nitrogen Base, and specialty media for specific organisms. Revenue generated through direct product purchases with pricing based on quantity and formulation complexity.
2. Custom Media Formulation Services: Bespoke media formulation services where Formedium collaborates with researchers to create custom culture media. Pricing equivalent to standard products for common components, with potential adjustments for special or valuable components. Minimum order quantities between 100g to 1kg depending on product complexity.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Formedium manufactures dehydrated powdered culture media and liquid buffers at its UK facility, supplying researchers, universities, and industrial laboratories with formulations for bacterial, yeast, and fungal cell cultures. The portfolio spans organism-specific media (E. coli, Saccharomyces, Schizosaccharomyces Pombe, Dictyostelium, Lactobacilli, Mycology), animal-free media using plant-based Soya Peptone, antibiotics and biochemicals, and individual media components.

Product overview

Formedium is a UK-based manufacturer of dehydrated culture media supplying researchers, universities, and industrial laboratories worldwide. The product portfolio centers on powdered culture media formulations organized into specialized categories: amino acids and vitamins; animal-free media using plant-based Soya Peptone; antibiotics and biochemicals including Ampicillin, Kanamycin, and HEPES; and organism-specific media for Dictyostelium Discoideum, Escherichia Coli (including Auto Induction Medium), Lactobacilli, Mycology (Aspergillus/Fusarium), Neidhardt MOPS, Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, and Schizosaccharomyces Pombe. The offering includes individual components (Agar, Glucose, Peptone, Tryptone, Yeast Extract) alongside formulated media. Services encompass Custom Made Media with batch sizes from 10g to 100kg, a Lab Startup Package providing 20% discounts for new laboratories, Media for Fermentation with bioreactor systems, and Technical Services for troubleshooting. All products are manufactured at a UK purpose-built facility under ISO 9001 standards with full batch traceability.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Amino Acids and Vitamins Range of amino acid and vitamin supplements used to supplement culture media and address auxotrophic requirements for yeast and bacterial research.
• Animal Free Media Plant-based culture media using Soya Peptone instead of animal-derived Tryptone, providing BSE/TSE-free ethical alternatives for bacterial and yeast research.
• Antibiotics, Biochemicals and Liquid Buffers Selection of antibiotics including Ampicillin Sodium, Carbenicillin Disodium, Kanamycin Monosulphate, and biochemicals such as DTT, EDTA, HEPES, IPTG for selection and molecular biology workflows.
• Escherichia Coli Media Comprehensive E. coli media range including Auto Induction Medium (AIM), LB media, Tryptone media, Terrific media, SuperBroth, M9 Minimal Salts, and Lambda medium formulations.
• Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Media Yeast media including Complex Media (YPD, YEP, YPAD), Yeast Nitrogen Base (YNB), Synthetic Defined (SD), Synthetic Complete (SC), and Amino Acid Drop-Out supplements based on five formulations.
• Schizosaccharomyces Pombe Media Media for fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces Pombe including complex media, minimal defined media, and SP supplements.
• Mycology Media Fungal culture media including Aspergillus Media and Fusarium SP formulations for mycology research applications.
• Lactobacilli Media MRS Medium (De Man, Rogosa and Sharpe) for selective growth of Lactobacilli in bacteriological cell cultures.
• Dictyostelium Discoideum Media Specialized media for Dictyostelium discoideum research including FM Defined Minimal Media, SIH Defined Minimal Media, and non-defined complex media.
• Media Components Individual media components including Agar, Casamino Acids, Glucose, Galactose, Raffinose, L-Arabinose, Malt Extract, Peptone, Potato Extract, Sodium Chloride, Synthetic Seawater Salts, Tryptone, and Yeast Extract.
• Custom Made Media Bespoke dry powder culture media tailored to researcher specifications, produced at the UK facility with full batch traceability and batch sizes from 10g to 100kg, including NDA support for confidential projects.
• Media for Fermentation Growth media and supporting bioreactor systems for research, development, and production across microbiology, biotechnology, and fermentation science applications.
• Lab Startup Package New lab startup program offering a 20% discount for the first 3 months plus free UK shipping for newly funded laboratories seeking to maximize research budgets.
• Technical Services Technical support team assisting with media selection, troubleshooting, and custom formulation guidance for laboratory customers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Soya Peptone performs equivalently to Tryptone in both liquid and solid media with no significant variance in E. coli growth curves or colony forming units.

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• EMBO (European Molecular Biology Organization)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormedium supports the life science community by sharing EMBO news, conferences, and lab leadership training opportunities. The company regularly features EMBO events, awards, and educational programs on their blog, demonstrating commitment to the scientific research community.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/formedium
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Formedium