Swiss bio-materials companySeprifytoday announced that it has raised €13.4 million in Series A funding to scale their cellulose-based alternative to titanium dioxide used across cosmetics, food and coatings.
The investment is backed by Inter IKEA Group and also includes participation from investors Una Terra Early Growth Fund, Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB), Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, Kickfund, and other circular-economy-aligned investors.
Seprify’s cellulose platform combines deep process know-how, application expertise and strong intellectual property spanning process, product and end-use applications. Flagship product grades include SilvaLuma, a cellulose-based SPF booster for cosmetics and personal care, and SilvaAlba, a food-grade whitening solution designed as a scalable alternative to titanium dioxide.
Supported by Inter IKEA Group, Seprify’s cellulose platform has been validated at TRL 7–9 through hands-on collaboration with industry partners and is now progressing through supplier qualification processes, early commercial contracts and procurement discussions across cosmetics and personal care, food and pet food, and coatings.
The company is currently engaged with more than 100 customer organisations, spanning active evaluations through to early commercial supply.
“This funding enables us to focus on execution and scale,” said Lukas Schertel, co-founder and CEO of Seprify.
“Our immediate priority is delivering consistent quality and reliable supply, meeting the operational standards large industrial customers require. In the near term, that means supporting cosmetics and personal care, including suncare, as well as food and pet food.
We are also scaling for higher-volume applications such as coatings, inks and printed electronics, reflecting the broader potential of our cellulose platform.”
According to Robert Carleke, Innovation Ventures Manager at Inter IKEA Group, IKEA looks forsolutions that can realistically replace high-impact incumbent materials while fitting into existing manufacturing and recycling systems.
“Seprify’s cellulose platform has reached a level of maturity that makes this a credible path to explore — not only for specific applications such as coatings and surface finishes, but as a scalable materials platform with the consistency and operational readiness required for industrial use. We’re looking forward to this exploratory project.”