What Exseed does

ExSeed is a Bulgarian deep-tech startup developing a novel 3-step protein extraction process that converts sunflower oil production byproducts (sunflower meal and press cake) into a high-purity (>90% protein) sunflower protein isolate for food manufacturers. The company operates a first-of-its-kind small pilot facility, with its core technology at TRL 7 and patent pending. It targets B2B customers across at least five horizontal use cases: dairy and condiment alternatives, high-protein bakery and pasta, plant-based meat, confectionery, and nutrition supplements. The product is positioned as non-allergenic, neutral in taste and color, competitively priced versus soy and pea proteins, and supported by a circular manufacturing model in which secondary byproducts are converted into high-protein feed for the fishing industry. Commercially, ExSeed uses a consultative enterprise field-sales motion, distributing free samples to qualified prospects to drive product development partnerships, and supplements sales with a heavy event-driven GTM presence at European industry conferences (Fi Europe, Free From Functional Food, Future of Protein Production, New Food Paradigm, TEDxVitosha). The company is supported by an ecosystem of partners including ProVeg Incubator, Beamline Accelerator, EIT, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, and Civitta. The team is 8 people led by Founder/CEO Boyan Zahariev and Co-Founder/Chief Scientist Angel Iliev, with no disclosed revenue, customers, or institutional funding rounds.

Name

Exseed

Legal name

ExSeed Ltd.

Website

https://ex-seed.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ExSeed is a Bulgarian deep-tech startup that converts sunflower oil production byproducts into >90% purity sunflower protein isolate via a proprietary 3-step extraction process, supplying B2B food manufacturers developing plant-based dairy alternatives, meats, bakery, confectionery, and supplements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Plant-Based Protein Ingredients

NAICS

Soybean and Other Oilseed Processing (311224)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Plant Protein Ingredients Manufacturing (Isolates, Concentrates, Flours) (AFAKAGAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Plant-Based Protein Ingredient Producers (Isolates, Concentrates, Texturates) (AFANAKAB), Plant Protein Ingredients (Soy, Pea, Wheat/Gluten, Rice, Oat, Potato) (AFAJAHAA)

Keywords

• Plant-based protein
• Sunflower protein isolate
• Alternative protein ingredients
• Food protein extraction
• Sustainable protein manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Sofia

HQ country

Bulgaria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Sunflower Protein Isolate Sales: B2B sales of sunflower protein isolate to food manufacturers, nutrition brands, and plant-based food producers. Revenue generated through ingredient sales with pricing based on volume and specifications.
2. Sample Distribution: Company offers free samples to potential customers for product testing and evaluation, facilitating partnership discussions and commercial agreements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ExSeed produces a high-purity (>90% protein) sunflower protein isolate by applying a proprietary, patent-pending 3-step extraction process to sunflower oil production byproducts (sunflower meal and press cake). The company operates a first-of-its-kind small pilot facility and sells the resulting plant-based protein ingredient to food manufacturers and nutrition brands for use in dairy alternatives, plant-based meats, bakery, pasta, confectionery, and functional nutrition. The isolate is non-allergenic, neutral in taste/smell/color, and features a balanced amino acid profile.

Product overview

ExSeed offers a single core product: Sunflower Protein Isolate, a functional plant-based protein ingredient produced through a proprietary 3-step extraction process from sunflower oil byproducts. The company positions this as an alternative to soy and pea proteins, targeting food manufacturers producing dairy alternatives, plant-based meats, bread/pasta, and confectionery. The product is marketed as non-allergenic, competitively priced, and with superior sensory attributes compared to existing plant proteins.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sunflower Protein Isolate A functional plant-based protein isolate with >90% protein content extracted from sunflower oil production byproducts (meal and press cake). Features a balanced amino acid profile, non-allergenic formulation, neutral taste/smell/color, and excellent solubility, water-holding capacity, and gelling properties. Sold to food manufacturers and nutrition brands as an alternative to soy and pea proteins for dairy alternatives, plant-based meats, bakery, pasta, confectionery, and supplements.

Quantifiable outcome

• First sunflower protein with >90% protein content
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• CivittaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCivitta (consulting/advisory firm) listed as partner, potentially providing business development or strategic consulting support.
• AgriVentures ConnectminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExSeed participated in AgriVentures Connect 2026 event, presenting vision for emerging technologies in protein production. Event brought together startups, scientists, farmers, investors, and companies developing sustainable agri-food solutions.
• VesnaminorOthersVesna listed as partner with logo displayed on website homepage.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Motif FoodWorks: Boston-based alt-protein ingredient startup developing functional plant proteins for plant-based meat and dairy. Comparable stage of maturity (venture-backed, ingredient-IP-led) and addresses the same customer pain points around taste, texture and functionality in plant-based formulations.
• Burcon NutraScience: Canadian specialty plant protein extractor commercialising pea, sunflower, canola and other oilseed proteins - explicitly overlapping with ExSeed on sunflower isolate. Smaller and scale-challenged, making it both a direct technology comparable and a cautionary tale on alt-protein commercialisation.
• Equinom: Israel-based seed-breeding and ingredient company using non-GMO breeding to develop high-protein plant varieties (including pea and soy) for alt-protein applications. Comparable deep-tech ingredient model and a likely upstream partner or competitor in protein-optimised sunflower cultivars.

Broad incumbents

• Bunge: Major global oilseed processor (including sunflower) with downstream food-ingredient operations. Relevant both as a feedstock supplier relationship and as a vertically-integrated competitor that could integrate its own sunflower meal into a protein isolate offering.
• Kerry Group: Global taste and nutrition company with growing plant-protein and functional-ingredient portfolio (e.g. plant-based meat systems). Targets the same food-manufacturer customers for protein functionality, though via systems/blends rather than a single-isolate proposition.
• ADM: Global agribusiness with deep plant-protein capabilities across soy, pea and wheat (e.g. Vegapro) and active pursuit of alt-protein ingredients. Operates at a scale and across geographies that dwarf ExSeed; provides a useful reference for the eventual commercial-scale B2B ingredient business ExSeed is targeting.
• Cargill: One of the world's largest agricultural processors with plant-protein ingredient businesses (e.g. PURIS pea protein in North America, soy isolates under multiple brands) supplying the same food-manufacturer customers. Its scale, capital and existing offtake relationships make it the most credible competitive threat and a potential acquirer.

Direct peers

• Cosucra: Belgian specialist in pea protein ingredients (Pisane) for B2B food and nutrition customers. Closely mirrors ExSeed's model: single-ingredient focus, deep technical positioning, protein functionality targeted at dairy-alternative and plant-based meat formulators across Europe.
• Roquette: French-headquartered global leader in plant-based protein ingredients, most notably pea protein (NUTRALYS). Directly comparable B2B supplier to food manufacturers developing plant-based dairy, meat and bakery - the same customer base ExSeed targets - and a likely entrant into sunflower isolate given its oilseed-processing footprint.
• Sotexpro: French soy protein concentrate and ingredient specialist serving B2B food formulators with textured and functional soy proteins. Same customer set, same plant-protein ingredient economics, providing a comparable benchmark for European single-ingredient protein businesses.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/exseed-ltd?trk=public_post_feed-actor-name

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Exseed