Arda Biomaterials Secures $5.25M to Scale Plant-Protein-Based Biomaterials 

Leading climate and deep-tech investors are backing Arda with a new round of investments to decarbonise material supply chains and significantly reduce reliance on animal-derived products and petrochemicals across sectors including fashion, footwear, automotive, and furniture.

Arda’s biomaterial technology transforms brewery and whisky waste into new materials—including animal, rubber, and plastic-free leather-like materials, for fashion & retail use.

Arda Biomaterials— a Clean Growth Fund portfolio company, is a chemistry technology company focused on material applications of plant-based proteins, such as leather-like materials and textiles. They have just closed an oversubscribed US$5.25M (GBP4.05m) round led by Germany’s Oyster Bay Venture Capital.

The financing round includes continued support from Clean Growth Fund—lead investor in Arda’s 2023 pre-seed round—alongside new London-based investors, Kadmos Capital and Green Angel Ventures.

This investment will enable Arda to accelerate its R&D efforts on its flagship innovation, New Grain™—a novel, leather-like material made from highly scalable waste barley proteins sourced from beer breweries and whisky distilleries.

Arda’s proprietary chemistry platform transforms these plant proteins to achieve two core objectives: 1) eliminating the need for plastics, and 2) replicating the structural qualities of animal-derived proteins found in materials like silk, wool, feathers, and leather.

The additional funds will enable Arda to begin commercialising New Grain^TM within the fashion, automotive, and further sectors. So far, the company has publicly launched a showpiece handbag in conjunction with BEEN London and converted Heineken-owned Beavertown Brewery spent grain into cardholders with the iconic Beavertown skull-and-bones branding.

In 2025 and 2026, Arda will shift focus toward larger-scale launches as its production capacity expands—driven by the opening of a new 5,000 square foot facility located on the iconic ‘Bermondsey Beer Mile’ in South London, near London Bridge and Tower Bridge. The company anticipates making its materials available to consumers in limited volumes as early as later this year.

Words from Arda’s founders

Co-founder and CEO of Arda, Brett Cotten, says, “We believe breweries and distilleries can do much more than just provide a feedstock. We use the same equipment, they have internal science and engineering expertise, and they already have brand partnerships within fashion, automotive, and sports—meaning scale that is found around the world, operational support, and commercial connections that you simply won’t find with other feedstock providers. Working with brewers and distillers is really a super power to help us achieve the right pricing and tremendous scales necessary to make a significant impact across industries. Maybe someday we will even create global merchandise for brewers and distillers themselves.”  

Co-founder and CTO at Arda, Dr. TJ Mitchell, says, “The natural world has all the necessary building blocks to create incredible, environmentally friendly materials. Spent grain is a perfect case: the abundant feedstock is rich in protein that we are able to extract & manipulate to create New Grain^TM, all without the need for plastics or petrochemicals. The material has come a long way since the first experiments in my kitchen, and it now looks and performs as a viable new material for those who want to see something different than animal-derived materials or plastic. We can’t wait to see it in more products.’’

Words from Arda’s seed round investors

Philip Stark, Principal at Oyster Bay: “We are pleased to back Arda on their mission to transform brewer’s spent grain into next-generation materials. Brett and TJ bring a rare combination of technical excellence and mission-driven ambition, and we are confident they can build a category-defining champion. Starting with leather alternatives, Arda is more than a materials company – it’s a reflection of Brett and TJ’s commitment to building a circular, sustainable, and scalable future. At Oyster Bay, we are excited to support them on their journey.”

Susannah McClintock, Investment Partner at Clean Growth Fund says, “We are proud to continue supporting Brett, TJ and the Arda team as they lead the charge in revolutionizing materials science with sustainable, plant-based alternatives. Their innovative approach to transforming proteins from waste grain into high value materials delivers an important advancement in decarbonising industries reliant on traditional animal-based and petrochemical materials. The Arda team combines exceptional technical expertise and a relentless commitment to sustainability, enabling them to deliver solutions with the potential for transformative environmental impact.”

Remy Kesrouani, Managing Partner at Kadmos Capital: “We were impressed by Brett and TJ when they presented their innovative solution at ARDA. We found their approach to be both elegant and impactful, which prompted us to explore further and uncover a truly differentiated scientific foundation and intellectual property that harnesses the power of nature in a remarkable way. Moreover, Brett and TJ embody the qualities we seek in driven, ambitious founders, and we’re excited to support them on this journey.”

Cam Ross, CEO of Green Angel Ventures says “It’s rare that a young founder impresses our members as well as TJ when he first pitched Arda Biomaterials. We had a large number of angels keen to invest in their early round and support their journey. We feel Arda’s innovation is critical; with the amount of raw resources that society is consuming along with the associated effect on climate change, new alternatives are vital. It’s even better when they look this good.” 

The announcement of Arda’s latest funding round follows another significant milestone: Arda’s acceptance into the sixth cohort of the 100+ Accelerator—a global corporate innovation program backed by industry giants including AB InBev, Danone, Unilever, Coca-Cola, and Colgate-Palmolive. As part of the program, Arda will pilot its technology with AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer.