Around one in 10 People Worldwide—Facing Hunger: Jamie Walters’s Great Idea Building Tomorrow

By confronting this challenge head-on, Jamie and his team built Calyxia, a startup that has grown into a million-dollar enterprise centered on sustainable agriculture practices.  Calyxia tackled the harmful effects of microplastics on our environment and introduced ways to empower sustainable food production.

About Jamie Walters:

Jamie Walters, CEO and co-founder of Calyxia, holds a PhD in chemical engineering from Cambridge University. Jamie belongs from a family of miners; his father and grandfather were both coal miners. The expectation was for him to work in the coal mines. The coal mines closed. However, this industry’s collapse led to massive job losses in his hometown due to the coal industry’s unsafe conditions and lack of sustainability.

Seeing the collapse of an industry and the resulting unemployment shaped Jamie's mission to build industries that are safe, sustainable, and economically viable, while also enhancing quality of life. With this goal in mind, his entrepreneurial spirit identified a gap in the agriculture sector, inspiring him to take on the challenging path of entrepreneurship to bridge that gap.

Inspiration behind the startup:

As Jamie progressed on his journey, he became aware of the reality of 700 million people facing hunger. He discovered that 1 in 10 people worldwide experience hunger challenges, which inspired him to take action. Jamie focused on finding solution to align food security with sustainable farming practices.

In his deep research, he discovers that, with the global population growing daily, there is a need to increase food production 30 to 50% by 2050 to close the significant gap. He realized that to prevent negative impacts on soil health and carbon emissions was crucial. Jamie's mission is to bridge the gap between higher food output and sustainable farming practices to ensure a healthier planet.

About startup:

Finally, in 2015, Jamie Walyters, Damien Demoulin, Professor Jerome Bibette, and Professor David Weitz founded the Paris-based startup Calyxia.

Calyxia is an industrial B2B CleanTech pioneer and certified B Corp that has developed a unique, eco-friendly manufacturing technology to produce the world's first advanced, high-performance, and sustainable microparticle and microcapsule products.

At Calyxia, they develop, produce, and sell advanced microcapsule solutions that enhance product performance and help global manufacturers achieve their sustainability goals. Their services support major industrial clients in agriculture, consumer care, and advanced materials, focusing on biodiversity protection, soil fertility, human health, and the creation of durable, energy-efficient materials.

Calyxia's mission for the Future:

Calyxia is booming with its mission to create a cutting-edge and sustainable future for the chemical industry by offering top manufacturers innovative microcapsules that effectively contain, protect, and deliver essential chemical and biological ingredients. Recently, the company secured $35 million to enhance global product performance and tackle microplastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

With the new funding and support from France 2030, Calyxia will expand its operations by opening a new headquarters and a second production facility in the Paris Region by Q1 2025. This will increase production to 3,000 metric tons per year. We expect this expansion to propel the company towards profitability and strengthen its market leadership.

Jamie is not only an entrepreneur but also an inspiration to all. He didn't ignore the problem; he tackled it with determination and worked tirelessly, and his dedication has now made him the leader of a successful startup. He always had a hunger to make a positive impact in the lives of millions, and now to satisfy his hunger, he chose a challenging path of entrepreneurship. If he had chosen a path of comfort, so today, we would not be celebrating his remarkable success story.

Jamie built a multimillion dollar company and became a successful entrepreneur with his unwavering enthusiasm and passion.