November 3, 2016

Florida-based Anuvia Plant Nutrients announced it has raised $23 million through a follow-on round of funding led by TPG Alternative & Renewable Technologies (TPG ART) – a standalone growth and late stage venture vehicle of private investment firm, TPG.

The round also included AIS JV – a joint venture formed between Agro-Iron Inc. and Shrieve Chemical Co. for the purpose of investing in Anuvia, Florida-based private equity firm Osceola Capital Management, food and agtech focused growth capital investor Pontifax AgTech, the Florida Opportunity Fund, and family-owned agricultural and land management company Evans Properties.

Anuvia develops and manufactures highly efficient, multi-nutrient, slow-release fertilizer products with organic materials as a base using a patented system that employs a natural binding mechanism, according to the company’s website. This mechanism allows Anuvia to create homogenous products without the use of artificial polymers or coatings. This method allows Anuvia to create products that increase crop yields and improve soil health while also addressing social, environmental, and economic sustainability issues.

This funding will be used by Anuvia to support the utilization of food waste in its production systems, the development of a liquid product, and the expansion of sales into international markets. It will also be used to fund the construction of a second production facility. The company’s first facility located in Zellwood, Florida started production in April of this year and is expected to produce 80,000 tons of products annually.

“We are pleased by the confidence our investors have shown in our growth plans.  Their deep industry knowledge and partnership will help us execute our plan of continued expansion of the Anuvia brand, both domestically and globally,” said Amy Yoder, CEO at Anuvia.

Natural Alternatives

With greater awareness for the need of environmental sustainability and increased demand from consumers for foods that are produced using more natural methods, alternatives to traditional chemical applications for agricultural production have been gaining investor attention.

The biofertilizer market is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.08 percent reaching an estimated market value of $2.3 billion by 2020, while the agricultural biological testing market is expected to grow at a rate of 10.4 percent, reaching a value of $1.1 billion by 2021, according to Markets and Markets.

A shrinking base of arable farmland, tight supply of traditional agricultural inputs over the past five years, and a higher level of willingness by farmers to adopt new systems that can result in higher yields while being environmentally safe have resulted in more significant funding rounds.

In May of this year, Chicago-based Seed 2 Growth Ventures (S2G) led a $10 million round for agricultural bio-chemical developer, Terramera. Other investors participating in the round include ACA Investments, Bold Capital Partners, Renewal Funds, and Maumee Ventures. Then, in August of this year, Biological insecticide company, Vestaron announced the completion of an oversubscribed $18 million Series D.

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Lynda Kiernan