The world’s largest manufacturer of yeast fermentation-derived oils and fats
Founded on more than a decade of research with the University of Bath, Clean Food Group brings together pioneering science and partnerships with the world’s leading food and cosmetic manufacturers.
At Clean Food Group (CFG), we’re redefining the future of oils and fats. Born from ten years of pioneering research and founded in 2022, we are a UK-based food tech company harnessing the power of fermentation to create the world’s first function-specific, sustainable oils and fats.
Our proprietary CLEAN OilCell™ platform transforms food waste into high-performance ingredients for food, cosmetics, and pet food. CLEAN Oil™ and CLEAN Butter™ are versatile, sustainable alternatives that deliver all the functionality of traditional oils, but at competitive prices and with a dramatically lighter environmental footprint.
With production validated at commercial scale — including a milestone run producing two tons of oil in a single fermentation — we’ve proven that our technology isn’t just visionary, it’s scalable. This makes CFG uniquely positioned to deliver microbial oils at competitive price points, without the need for costly infrastructure.
We’re already partnering with global FMCG leaders and ingredient manufacturers to meet a growing demand for local, sustainable, and resilient supply chains. And in September 2025, our CLEANOil™ product received regulatory approval for use in cosmetics across the UK, Europe, and the United States — marking the first of many breakthroughs to come.
Behind our innovation is a team of seasoned leaders with a track record of scaling businesses in high-growth, regulated industries. Together, we’re driving a new era of sustainable production — where performance, price, and planet are finally aligned.
The journey so far
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2022
Founder round (£2.3m). IP acquired from the University of Bath. Scale-up agreement signed with Doehler. £1m Innovate UK scale-up grant.
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2023–24
Seed round (£4.7m). Strategic collaborations with global FMCGs. Fermentation scaled to 100,000L. Market approval for oil as a cosmetics ingredient. Partnerships with THG LABS and Alianza Team.
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2025
Acquisition of the one million litre Knowsley facility. CLEANOil™ secures cosmetics approval. EIT Food RisingFoodStars. Science Museum Future of Food exhibition.
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2026
£4.5m bridge round led by Clean Growth Fund and New Agrarian. Revenue generation from personal care. Novel Foods dossiers submitted in the UK and EU. Commercial-scale manufacturing at Knowsley.
Our Team
Our founding team and board combines commercial, entrepreneurial and regulatory experience in FMCG and highly regulated sectors with scientific excellence.
Alex Neves
CEO & Co-founder
A successful entrepreneur with 13 years of experience in FMCG and food and beverages. Established Scratch Meals Ltd in 2009 and later joined EMMAC Life Sciences as Head of Wellness.
Professor Chris Chuck
Technical Lead & Co-founder
Professor of Bioprocess Engineering at the University of Bath. Author of over 100 peer-reviewed papers, with £23m secured in funding. Developed the proprietary technology platform.
Tom Ellen
CFO & Co-founder
20 years in senior finance and business roles across start-ups and large multinationals. Co-founded EMMAC Life Sciences, and spent 10 years at Royal Dutch Shell. Chartered Accountant.
Hannah Du Beke
CMO
A proven business leader with a track record of delivering growth through corporate positioning and market communication. 25 years across telecoms, technology, pharmaceutical and nonprofit.
Steve Molyneux
General Manager, Knowsley
An accomplished manufacturing leader delivering operational excellence and sustainable growth across food, pharmaceutical and FMCG. MSc in Manufacturing Leadership.
Dr James Mercer
Head of Manufacturing Technology
An industry leader in fermentation with over 27 years in microbial and cell culture. Senior roles at Croda, DuPont, Enough and Marlow Ingredients. Expertise in scale-up to 300,000L.
Hami Harbridge
Head of Commercial
Over a decade building commercial teams, with directorships at Hubron International and Sensient Technologies, focused on commercial governance and sales strategy in ingredient markets.
Andrea Cattaruzza
Director of Food Science
A consultant to the food industry since 2018, advising on research and innovation strategy, after 30 years at Mars Global Chocolate in R&D and purchasing.
Dr Yogeshwar Chandelia
Manufacturing Technology Manager
Holds a PhD in fermentation science, specialising in industrial microbiology and scalable fermentation. Previously at Diageo, Enough and Kerry Food & Nutrition.
Andy Hall
Head of Finance
An experienced finance professional with over 20 years experience leading financial operations and high performing teams in the manufacturing sector. Proficient in aligning finance functions with organisational goals.
Matthew Peasnall
Process Engineer
A process engineer with several years in fermentation for sustainable foods, previously at Enough on plant design, equipment testing and process commissioning.
Monica Ribeiro
Fermentation Scientist
Over three years of biotechnology expertise, specialising in fermentation at scales up to 300L across pharmaceutical, cosmetics and textiles.
Simone Schito
Researcher
Dr Oleta Norvilaite
Research Chemist
Fuqiang Chang
Research Lead (DSP)
Joshua Knock
Fermentation Scientist
Nadeem Khaliq
Manufacturing Lead
John Haymer
Engineering Supervisor
Alan Sothern
Technical Manager
Joanne Haymer
Site Administrator
Tony Walsh
Site Electrician
Our Board
Ed McDermott
Co-chairman & Co-founder
An experienced capital markets professional with 18 years in the management and financing of growth companies internationally, having raised over £750m. CEO of AIM-quoted Seed Innovations.
Jim Mellon
Co-chairman
An author, entrepreneur and investor across a number of sectors. Chairs Juvenescence and holds positions at multiple companies through his Burnbrae Group family office.
Bill Thurston
Non-executive Director
Over 35 years in the food industry managing family and publicly listed companies from £50m to £1.3bn, including MD and VP roles at Dawn Foods and CSM Bakery.