Planetary acquires Libre Foods to supercharge fungi-based innovation at scale

Swiss biomanufacturing company, Planetary SA, has acquired the core assets of Libre Foods, the Barcelona-based startup known for pioneering fungi-based meat alternatives including Europe’s first fungi-derived bacon. The deal, announced today, sees Planetary take ownership of Libre’s brand, intellectual property, commercial agreements, and R&D know-how, significantly expanding its capabilities in fungi-based ingredient development and industrial fermentation.

The strategic move bolsters Planetary’s ambitions to accelerate the industrialization of bio-based food and material solutions. The company operates the only active industrial mycoprotein production facility in continental Europe, located in Aarberg, Switzerland, and is building out a full-stack fermentation platform that integrates with the surrounding agro-industrial complex. By adding Libre’s portfolio, Planetary aims to bridge AI-powered ingredient discovery with high-throughput biomanufacturing.

“This is a strategic acquisition for Planetary as we seek to continuously build and strengthen our BioBlocks platform,” commented Charles Pontvianne, Group CFO at Planetary SA. “We are proud to partner with Alan and will seek to extract both operational and commercial synergies from Libre’s brand, products and IP in a short timeframe. Combined with our full-stack fermentation platform, the acquisition of Libre’s assets will reinforce our asset-light licensing offering and further accelerate our commercial ramp-up.”

Founded four years ago, Libre Foods has quickly become one of Europe’s most recognizable names in mycelium innovation. The company made headlines for launching the first fungi-based bacon in the EU and has since been developing whole-muscle meat analogs using mycelium, underpinned by its proprietary AI research tool, Fung.AI.

“When we started this journey four years ago, our aim was to unlock all of fungi’s potential to reinvent food, ultimately into mainstream adoption,” said Alan Iván Ramos, CEO and Founder of Libre Foods. “Combining the cutting-edge work we’ve conducted in the lab over the years, together with Planetary’s best-in-class biomanufacturing capabilities, innovative product portfolio and scientific know-how for mycelium fermentation, I’m both confident and proud that Libre is now in the best position to make that a reality.”

Libre’s lead investor, Green Generation Fund, is also joining Planetary’s investor base as part of the transaction. The Germany-based fund has become a prominent backer of agri-food tech startups in Europe, and its continued involvement reflects confidence in Planetary’s capacity to scale mycelium-based innovations sustainably and efficiently.

“We have been proud to support founder Alan Iván Ramos and the Libre Foods team in their mission to transform the food system using fungi,” said Peter Dorfner, Principal at Green Generation Fund. “Their ability to combine scientific ambition with consumer relevance has set a new benchmark in mycelium innovation. With Planetary’s unmatched infrastructure, scientific expertise and deep vision for scaling bio-based technologies, we believe they are the ideal home to carry Libre’s product innovation from lab to scale.”

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Planetary’s approach focuses on modular, scalable production for bio-based ingredients across food and materials, using a wide range of feedstocks and fermentation processes. With Libre’s assets now integrated, the company is positioned to push forward the industrial deployment of fungi-derived products across Europe and beyond.