cuomebio

What cuomebio does

Cuomebio (주)큐옴바이오 is a Korean biotechnology company founded in 2017 that develops and commercializes heat-treated (paraprobiotic, or "killed") lactic acid bacteria. Its core technology is a proprietary fermentation and stabilization process that yields ultra-high bacterial concentrations—8 trillion per gram for coccus strains and 5 trillion per gram for bacillus strains—together with a strain library that includes patented kimchi-derived isolates and a women's vaginal-derived candidate under development. The company operates two R&D and production facilities, the Seoul Bio Hub and the Jeju Challenge Center, which together host its strain development, fermentation, and finished-product manufacturing.

Cuomebio generates revenue through three distinct channels. First, it sells a direct-to-consumer paraprobiotic supplement brand (Cuome) via its own e-commerce storefront. Second, it supplies heat-treated bacterial raw materials on a B2B basis to manufacturers of health functional foods and cosmetics. Third, it offers contract R&D services that monetize its fermentation, stabilization, and killed-bacteria formulation know-how. This three-channel model is intended to capture margin across consumer, ingredient-supply, and research-collaboration layers.

In the 2021–2022 disclosure window Cuomebio pursued an offensive build-out of IP, regulatory credentials, and product breadth, including certification as an Excellent Technology Enterprise, selection for a government-backed multi-function paraprobiotic project, an MOU with the Jeju Korean Medicine Research Institute, and the sequential launch of Shinlibiotics and a higher-concentration 5 trillion/g SKU. The company remains privately held with no publicly disclosed revenue, headcount, or capital structure.

Name

cuomebio

Legal name

(주)큐옴바이오 (Cuomebio Co., Ltd.)

Website

https://cuomebio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Cuomebio is a Korean biotech founded in 2017 that develops ultra-high-concentration heat-treated (paraprobiotic) lactic acid bacteria for consumer health supplements, B2B raw-material supply, and contract R&D, with facilities in Seoul and Jeju.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Probiotic Ingredients & Dietary Supplements

NAICS

Food Manufacturing (311), Dairy Product Manufacturing (3115)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000), Dairy Products (2020)

akta.pro primary industry

Probiotics (Strains, Spore-Formers, Synbiotic Components) (AFAJAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cultures, Probiotics & Fermentation Ingredients (Starter Cultures, Yeast, Adjuncts) (CRADAOAI), Probiotics & Digestive Health Supplements (CRADAGAF), Probiotic, Prebiotic & Gut-Health Foods Manufacturing (Fermented Functional Foods, Synbiotics) (AFAKAJAH)

Keywords

• Heat-treated probiotics
• Paraprobiotic ingredients
• Lactic acid bacteria
• Microbiome therapeutics
• Functional food materials

Headquarters

HQ city

Seoul

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Branded Consumer Products: Cuome brand establishment for probiotic dietary supplements and cosmetics sold through e-commerce platform cuomemall.com
2. B2B Raw Materials: Supply of high-concentration killed probiotic and functional raw materials to manufacturers
3. Microbial Therapeutics R&D: Development of microbial therapeutics as a business segment

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Cuomebio develops and supplies ultra-high-concentration heat-treated (paraprobiotic/killed) lactic acid bacteria raw materials at trillion-scale CFU/g levels to B2B manufacturers in food, dietary supplements, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries. The company also markets its own Cuome consumer brand of probiotic dietary supplements and cosmetics via its e-commerce platform cuomemall.com, and conducts R&D on microbiome-based therapeutics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cuome Brand: Probiotic dietary supplements and cosmetics product line

Products and services

• Heat-treated Paraprobiotic Raw Materials (열처리 고농도 유산균) B2B supply of high-concentration dead bacteria and functional live probiotic raw materials for use as functional food ingredients, dietary supplements, cosmetics, pharmaceutical raw materials, animal feed, and agricultural applications. Target customers are manufacturers in food, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and animal feed industries.
• Cuome Brand Consumer Products (큐옴 브랜드) Consumer product line under the Cuome brand, including probiotic dietary supplements and cosmetic products formulated with heat-treated high-concentration lactic acid bacteria with immune-supporting benefits, sold direct-to-consumer through the cuomemall.com e-commerce platform.
• Shinlibiotics (신리바이오틱스) — 500 Billion CFU Paraprobiotic Supplement Shelf-stable paraprobiotic dietary supplement product containing 500 billion CFU of heat-treated (killed) lactic acid bacteria under the Cuome consumer brand, providing immune-supporting benefits without cold-chain storage requirements.
• Cuomebio 5 Trillion CFU Paraprobiotic Product Higher-concentration paraprobiotic product (and ingredient grade) containing 5 trillion CFU heat-treated lactic acid bacteria per gram, leveraging the company's world-leading trillion-scale killed-probiotic concentration technology.

Quantifiable outcome

• 8 trillion/g coccus and 5 trillion/g bacillus concentration

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• 제주한의약연구원 (Jeju Korean Medicine Research Institute)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 December 2021Joint research MOU signed between Jeju Korean Medicine Research Institute and Cuomebio for collaborative research in traditional medicine and probiotic applications

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cell Biotech: Korean dual-chamber probiotics company supplying both branded probiotic supplements and B2B probiotic strain ingredients, with a comparable mix of consumer health and ingredient supply revenue. Closest comparable in geography, scale, and product mix.
• Probi AB: Swedish probiotics R&D company that develops and licenses probiotic strains for food and supplement manufacturers, with a similar B2B-licensing business model. Comparable in scale and go-to-market to Cuomebio's ingredient supply segment.
• Winclove Probiotics: Dutch probiotic ingredient manufacturer focused on multi-strain formulations for specific health indications. Competes for the same B2B supplement and functional food formulation slots as Cuomebio's ingredient business.
• AB Biotics: Spanish probiotics company developing proprietary bacterial strains for both nutraceutical and pharmaceutical applications. Comparable in size, mix of consumer health and pharma pipeline, and proprietary-strain IP strategy.

Broad incumbents

• BioGaia: Swedish probiotics specialist with proprietary Lactobacillus reuteri strains and a global B2B ingredient business plus branded consumer products. A more mature and global version of Cuomebio's probiotic strain platform with broader commercial validation.
• Chr. Hansen (Novonesis): Global leader in probiotic and fermented food cultures with extensive B2B ingredient supply to dairy, supplement, and food manufacturers. Represents the upper-bound incumbent that Cuomebio's B2B raw material supply competes against for manufacturer formulation slots.
• Lallemand Health Solutions: Canadian probiotic ingredient supplier providing documented probiotic strains and yeast-based products to supplement and functional food manufacturers worldwide. Directly comparable B2B ingredient business with similar science-backed positioning.
• Lesaffre (Gnosis by Lesaffre): Global fermentation specialist with a probiotics and yeast-derivative ingredient business serving supplement and food manufacturers. A larger, well-established incumbent competing in adjacent fermentation-derived functional ingredients.
• Kerry Group (Ganeden): Global taste and nutrition company that acquired Ganeden, a spore-based probiotic ingredient supplier. Represents a shelf-stable probiotic technology comparable to Cuomebio's heat-treated approach, now backed by a multinational platform.
• Asahi Kasei (Lactobacillus LB / heat-killed probiotic products): Japanese conglomerate with heat-killed (paraprobiotic) lactic acid bacteria products sold globally. Most directly comparable technology approach to Cuomebio's heat-treated killed probiotic platform, with established regulatory acceptance in Japan and broader distribution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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 cuomebio