Project description
Organic lycopene set to hit markets
Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant found mainly in tomatoes and red and pink fruits that have been linked to a wide range of beneficial effects. Licofarma aims to become the first company to introduce Organic Lycopene, produced without chemicals from fresh organic-certified tomatoes. It aims to do that through a unique, internationally patented process technology. Existing competing products are mainly synthetic, offering a lower cost but with poor quality and the presence of toxic agents on products, mainly tomatoes. Organic Lycopene is due to hit the market with a value of USD 84 million and a 3 % growth expected from 2019.
Objective
Licofarma aims to be the first company to bring on the market Organic Lycopene, produced without chemical solvents from fresh organic-certified tomatoes, through a unique, internationally patented process technology. Lycopene is an antioxidant compound very important for human health, preventing a number of life-threatening and chronic diseases. Despite its benefits, Lycopene has two problems: it has to be taken through diet, as the body cannot produce it, and current production processes involve chemical solvents and toxic impurities. Licofarma patented technology extracts Lycopene from organic- quality tomatoes without any chemical solvents, using only CO2 in supercritical conditions. The end product has unmatched quality features: absence of toxic agents and impurities, high bioavailability, high antioxidant and cancer-prevention properties, high-quality food colouring, 100% natural and organic certification and environment-friendly and safe production process. Competitor products are Synthetic lycopene from chemical synthesis, which has lower cost, high presence of toxic agents and poor quality, and Natural lycopene from tomatoes, which has average cost, still toxic agents and lower quality than Licofarma’s product. Both products cannot be organic certified and have high impact on environment and safety. Organic Lycopene will be offered on the market in bulk form, for producers, and directly to consumers as ingredient of dietary supplements and ophthalmic products. The Lycopene production market value is foreseen at 84M€ in 2018 (300 tons/year) with yearly growth higher than 3%. Licofarma target is to reach an annual production of about 10 tons/year (3,2% share). The product will boost growth of the company, generating almost 40M€ cumulated revenues in 5 years and creating 16 new jobs. The total financial requirement amounts to about 5M€, of which 4.3M€ in tangible assets over 2 years, with an internal return rate of over 50% and Net Present Value of 14M€.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
73013 GALATINA
Italy
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.