Biotech firm MicroLub raises £7.5m led by Northern Gritstone
This article covers MicroLub, a biotech startup spun out from the University of Leeds, which has raised £7.5m in a growth funding round to commercialise a protein-based ingredient that replaces fat’s lubricating role with water. The development aims to help MicroLub scale manufacturing and commercial supply, enabling food manufacturers to reduce fat and calories by up to 75% while retaining mouthfeel and texture.
MicroLub, a biotech startup spun out from the University of Leeds, has raised £7.5m in a growth funding round to commercialise a protein-based ingredient that replaces fat’s lubricating role with water — allowing manufacturers to cut fat and calories by up to 75% while retaining mouthfeel and texture.
Why it matters
Food manufacturers are under growing pressure to reformulate products as regulation, shifting diets and the rapid uptake of GLP-1 weight-loss medicines change consumer demand. Reformulation often forces a trade-off between nutrition and the sensory experience that drives repeat purchases. MicroLub’s approach targets that trade-off directly: if it works at scale, it could let brands reduce fat and calories without sacrificing taste or texture, a commercially important outcome for mainstream grocery and branded food makers.
Inside the product
MicroLub’s proprietary ingredient uses proteins and water to replicate the lubrication fat normally provides, rather than substituting fats with starches, gums or alternative fats. The company says the technology can reduce fat and calorie content by up to 75%, increase protein in many formulations, and simplify ingredient lists by removing emulsifiers and thickeners that consumers increasingly reject.
Since spinning out of the University of Leeds, MicroLub has moved from lab-scale trials to industrial-scale manufacturing and now runs its own food innovation laboratory at Nexus in Leeds while continuing to use university research facilities. The firm says it already works with several large food and ingredient companies; those partnerships indicate industrial interest but the company has not named specific commercial customers. The fresh funding is intended to grow the team, accelerate expansion into the US and Asian markets, convert existing trials into commercial agreements and further develop the ingredient technology.
Who are the investors?
The round raised £7.5m and was led by Northern Gritstone, with all of MicroLub’s existing backers participating. That includes NPIF II - PXN Equity Finance, which is managed by PXN Ventures as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II.
The investors cited the company’s university origins, progress in scaling manufacturing and the commercial potential of an ingredient that eases reformulation challenges for food producers. The funding will be used to expand the team, accelerate international roll-out and move customer trials towards commercial supply.
In the announcement, David Peters, CEO at MicroLub, said:
For too long, consumers have had to choose between food products that taste great, but are unhealthy, and those that are nutritious but compromise on the eating experience. With MicroLub's technology, that's no longer the case - they can now literally have their cake and eat it! Our technology enables manufacturers to reduce fat, increase protein and simplify ingredient lists while delivering the indulgent mouthfeel and texture consumers expect. This investment supports our international scale-up, team growth, and getting MicroLub powered on shelves very soon.
In the announcement, Duncan Johnson, CEO at Northern Gritstone, said:
MicroLub is addressing one of the food industry's biggest scientific and commercial challenges. Its proprietary technology enables manufacturers to reformulate products in response to changing consumer expectations without compromising the sensory experience that drives purchasing decisions. Since emerging from the University of Leeds, the company has made exceptional progress, scaling its technology and attracting interest from global food manufacturers. This is exactly the kind of world-class university spinout Northern Gritstone was created to support, and we're excited to back the team as they build what we believe can become a globally significant ingredient technology company.
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Founder perspective
MicroLub was founded by Professor Anwesha Sarkar from the School of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Leeds. The company maintains close ties with the university, using its research facilities alongside MicroLub’s Nexus food innovation lab in Leeds. That academic lineage is central to the company’s technical credibility as it shifts from demonstration projects to commercial supply.
The bigger picture
The deal sits at the intersection of two trends: growing investor interest in university spinouts with clear paths to industrial adoption, and a structural shift in food demand driven by health concerns and new medical therapies. For UK biotech investors and ingredient-focused firms, technologies that allow reformulation without sacrificing consumer appeal are especially attractive.
MicroLub’s raise underscores continued regional venture activity — including support from NPIF vehicles — aimed at turning UK research into exportable products. If the company can convert trials into shelf-ready supply in the US and Asia, it would be a useful case study for how UK university spinouts can scale internationally in the food and ingredient sector.
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