With high-protein nutrition becoming mainstream, Lyon-based Verley secures €32 million to scale up production capacity

The funding was led by Alven, with participation from Blast and the French Tech Seed Fund (operated by Bpifrance under the France 2030 programme). Existing investors, including Sofinnova Partners, Sparkfood, Captech, and Founders Future, also joined the round, alongside additional non-dilutive backing from Bpifrance.

Stéphane Mac Millan, CEO and co-founder of Verley, said: “Verley’s mission is to address the growing global demand for high-quality nutrition while preserving the planet’s natural resources. Verley is now ready to help alleviate the pressure the dairy industry is facing. We are very proud to be building a Europe an champion leveraging decades of know – how in the dairy industry.”

Verley’s €32 million Series A places it at the higher end of funding rounds for precision fermentation and functional protein ingredient companies in Europe during 2025–2026.

By comparison, earlier-stage startups featured by EU-Startups have raised smaller rounds. SUMM Ingredients secured around €1.7 million in Seed funding to introduce a multifunctional fermented protein ingredient, while PFx Biotech raised approximately €2.5 million to further develop its precision fermentation platform focused on allergy-free human milk proteins.

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In adjacent fermentation technologies, EvodiaBio attracted about €6 million to expand its fermentation-based flavour solutions.

Combined, these EU-Startups-reported rounds amount to roughly €10 million, highlighting that Verley’s Series A significantly exceeds most fermentation-related financings disclosed in 2025.

Overall, larger Series-level investments remain relatively rare in Europe’s precision fermentation and functional ingredient sector, where the majority of funding continues to flow into Seed-stage ventures and adjacent technology innovations.

Hélène Briand, co-founder and Chief Innovation and Commercial Officer, adds: “This financing allows us to scale not only our production, but the performance promise behind our ingredients. Our functionalisation technologies are designed to meet real industrial constraints and application needs. That focus on performance is what makes precision fermentation relevant and viable at scale.”

Founded in 2022, Verley is a food and nutrition ingredient company producing high-purity, functional whey proteins using precision fermentation. By combining strong nutritional performance, industrial scalability, and improved sustainability, the company aims to help food and beverage brands develop next-generation high-protein products that meet changing consumer preferences and market demands.

According to company data, the global protein market is expected to continue reaching record levels after hitting €26.9 billion ($31.8 billion) in 2025. High-protein nutrition has become a mainstream requirement across multiple product categories. At the same time, population growth, shifting dietary habits, and the rapid adoption of GLP-1 treatments — with 1 in 8 adults in the US reportedly using a GLP-1 drug in 2025 — are further accelerating demand for high-quality, easily digestible protein ingredients.

Within this landscape, Verley focuses on producing functional whey proteins, particularly beta-lactoglobulin (BLG), engineered to deliver the nutritional and technical performance required by modern food manufacturers. The company has designed its platform to integrate smoothly into existing food production value chains.

Its fermentation-based ingredients require significantly fewer natural resources than conventional dairy production, responding to growing demand from both manufacturers and consumers for lower-impact, more sustainable solutions.

Verley’s product portfolio, marketed under the FermWhey brand, includes functionalised whey proteins tailored for real-world applications such as high-protein yoghurts and protein shots. These ingredients are designed to offer high purity, enhanced solubility, strong emulsification and gelling properties, along with optimised nutritional profiles.

The €32 million Series A proceeds will primarily support the company’s expansion into the US market, including commercial rollout and early customer scaling, as well as increased production capacity. Verley also plans to continue investing in research and development to further improve the performance, efficiency, and sustainability of its precision fermentation technology.