Pacifico Biolabs raises €7M to brew protein in old beer tanks
What's the deal? Pacifico Biolabs, a mycelium fermentation protein company, has raised €7M in a Series A round. The funding was backed by Stray Dog CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, TGFSDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Sprout & About Ventures, Simon Capital, FoodLabs, and a regional brewery partner.
The startup produces protein ingredients using mycelium fermentation — and it does so by repurposing existing brewery infrastructure rather than building new facilities from scratch.
Why now? The alternative protein sector has struggled with one persistent problem: the massive capital cost of building dedicated production facilities. Pacifico Biolabs sidesteps this by plugging into underutilised brewing equipment, which shares much of the same basic fermentation technology.
The company plans to use the fresh capital to scale production and expand commercial launches across the DACH region and Nordic Europe.
What could go wrong? Brewery partnerships depend on spare capacity — and that can fluctuate with seasonal demand. If craft beer rebounds or consolidation reduces the number of available partner breweries, Pacifico's asset-light model could face bottlenecks.
Consumer acceptance of mycelium-based proteins also remains uneven across European markets, and regulatory timelines for novel food ingredients can be unpredictable.
The signal: Pacifico Biolabs originally positioned itself around seafood alternatives — developing products pitched as healthier and lower cost through biomass fermentation — suggesting this round could accelerate a pivot or expansion beyond its initial niche. The backing of Stray Dog Capital, a fund focused on animal-free food systems, alongside a regional brewery partner points to a deal shaped equally by mission-aligned capital and operational pragmatism, a combination that could prove more durable than pure venture-backed alt-protein plays.
Read more: Tech.eu
