Customer testimonials
Treatment of by-products: The CTCPA supports the start-up Fungu'it in setting up a process to recover agricultural by-products and ferment them in a solid medium.
19
Oct
Published on: 19/10/2025
The CTCPA has helped start-up Fungu'it to set up a process for recycling agricultural by-products and fermenting them in a solid medium. Interview with Jeanne BAUDEVIN, Co-founder & Managing Director of Fungu'it.
"Overall, the support went very well. I found the exchanges very qualitative, especially on a scientific level."
Introduce us to Fungu'it: structure, vision, values, products...
At Fungu'it, we develop aromatic ingredients from agricultural by-products, thanks to a solid-state fermentation process using filamentous fungi. In concrete terms, this gives rise to ingredients akin to fermented flours, very rich in aromas, which can replace artificial flavors or certain additives in food products.
These ingredients don't just provide taste: depending on the combinations of co-products and mushroom strains used, they can also offer other interesting functionalities such as color or texturizing properties. This approach enables us to create a wide range of ingredients that are natural, healthy, minimally processed and have a low environmental impact.
Our mission is twofold: to offer more responsible aromatic alternatives, while reclaiming agricultural by-products. Beyond technology, our vision is based on commitment, curiosity and innovation. We are constantly seeking new solutions to meet the major challenges facing the food industry, in a sustainable and creative way.
How did you come to contact the CTCPA? What were your needs? What were your objectives?
We called on the CTCPA to help us optimize our process for preparing and pre-treating the co-products used for solid-state fermentation. This process requires a very specific substrate texture, in order to promote homogeneous mushroom development.
We therefore had to work on several key parameters: particle size, hydration rate, substrate porosity and heat treatment. The aim was to study the impact of these parameters on a scale closer to industrial reality, notably by testing different types of machine and larger volumes.
This collaboration with the CTCPA should enable us to better control the conditions under which our substrates are prepared, and thus ensure the quality and reproducibility of our fermented ingredients.
Why did you choose the CTCPA? How did you hear about the CTCPA?
The CTCPA is a well-known institution in the agri-food sector, notably through its links with schools such as AgroParisTech, where many agri-food players have heard of your work. Several startups in our network had also already carried out trials with you, which naturally led us to your organization.
We chose you for two main reasons: you had the specific equipment we wanted to test as part of our process, and your FoodLab hall in Beauvais offers a food-grade environment, enabling us to carry out R&D trials and marketable pre-production runs, which was essential for us. This enabled us to carry out trials in conditions close to those we aim to achieve on an industrial scale. Even if it was a small service, the aim was to provide a clear framework for our trials and to test certain hypotheses in practice, using the right tools and in a suitable environment.
How did the support go?
On the whole, the support went very well. I found the exchanges very qualitative, particularly on a scientific level. We were in contact with Carla LUCET on the commercial side and Nicolas MARISSAL on the operational side, with whom our collaboration was both fluid and relevant. Their advice was invaluable in helping us to better frame our trials.
What is your assessment today? How do you see the benefits of this support?
The results are very positive. This collaboration has enabled us to validate several avenues for the treatment of our co-products, particularly in the pre-treatment stages. It was a preliminary study, but it gave us the first solid foundations on which to refine our process.
The objectives set at the outset were achieved, and the knowledge gained from this support was put to real use internally. We were able to delve deeper into certain critical stages of the process, which enabled us to make significant progress in our development.
Since then, we've made great strides, notably by scaling up. We raised funds, which enabled us to invest in our own equipment to develop an in-house R&D and production pilot. The results of the study with the CTCPA were therefore useful in guiding our technical choices, particularly in the acquisition of certain machines and in the treatment of by-products.
Of course, there are still adjustments to be made depending on the type of co-product, but with our first ingredients, we've reached an important milestone.
What are your next goals or announcements?
We recently finalized a round of financing of over 4 million euros, marking a major milestone for Fungu'it. This will enable us to finance the setting up of our own R&D and production pilot plant, located on the Genopole site.
Our next objectives are therefore focused on scaling up: we want to industrialize our technology in a standardized and reproducible way, with the ambition of acquiring solid specifications with a view, eventually, to setting up our own plant. This involves a major scale-up of the process.
At the same time, we are continuing to develop new ingredients by testing other fungal strains and new co-products, in order to broaden our product portfolio.
Finally, we are currently recruiting, particularly for technical profiles in biotechnology, to strengthen our team and support this new phase of growth.
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CONTACT FUNGU'IT :
"Overall, the support went very well. I found the exchanges very qualitative, especially on a scientific level."
Introduce us to Fungu'it: structure, vision, values, products...
At Fungu'it, we develop aromatic ingredients from agricultural by-products, thanks to a solid-state fermentation process using filamentous fungi. In concrete terms, this gives rise to ingredients akin to fermented flours, very rich in aromas, which can replace artificial flavors or certain additives in food products.
These ingredients don't just provide taste: depending on the combinations of co-products and mushroom strains used, they can also offer other interesting functionalities such as color or texturizing properties. This approach enables us to create a wide range of ingredients that are natural, healthy, minimally processed and have a low environmental impact.
Our mission is twofold: to offer more responsible aromatic alternatives, while reclaiming agricultural by-products. Beyond technology, our vision is based on commitment, curiosity and innovation. We are constantly seeking new solutions to meet the major challenges facing the food industry, in a sustainable and creative way.
How did you come to contact the CTCPA? What were your needs? What were your objectives?
We called on the CTCPA to help us optimize our process for preparing and pre-treating the co-products used for solid-state fermentation. This process requires a very specific substrate texture, in order to promote homogeneous mushroom development.
We therefore had to work on several key parameters: particle size, hydration rate, substrate porosity and heat treatment. The aim was to study the impact of these parameters on a scale closer to industrial reality, notably by testing different types of machine and larger volumes.
This collaboration with the CTCPA should enable us to better control the conditions under which our substrates are prepared, and thus ensure the quality and reproducibility of our fermented ingredients.
Why did you choose the CTCPA? How did you hear about the CTCPA?
The CTCPA is a well-known institution in the agri-food sector, notably through its links with schools such as AgroParisTech, where many agri-food players have heard of your work. Several startups in our network had also already carried out trials with you, which naturally led us to your organization.
We chose you for two main reasons: you had the specific equipment we wanted to test as part of our process, and your FoodLab hall in Beauvais offers a food-grade environment, enabling us to carry out R&D trials and marketable pre-production runs, which was essential for us. This enabled us to carry out trials in conditions close to those we aim to achieve on an industrial scale. Even if it was a small service, the aim was to provide a clear framework for our trials and to test certain hypotheses in practice, using the right tools and in a suitable environment.
How did the support go?
On the whole, the support went very well. I found the exchanges very qualitative, particularly on a scientific level. We were in contact with Carla LUCET on the commercial side and Nicolas MARISSAL on the operational side, with whom our collaboration was both fluid and relevant. Their advice was invaluable in helping us to better frame our trials.
What is your assessment today? How do you see the benefits of this support?
The results are very positive. This collaboration has enabled us to validate several avenues for the treatment of our co-products, particularly in the pre-treatment stages. It was a preliminary study, but it gave us the first solid foundations on which to refine our process.
The objectives set at the outset were achieved, and the knowledge gained from this support was put to real use internally. We were able to delve deeper into certain critical stages of the process, which enabled us to make significant progress in our development.
Since then, we've made great strides, notably by scaling up. We raised funds, which enabled us to invest in our own equipment to develop an in-house R&D and production pilot. The results of the study with the CTCPA were therefore useful in guiding our technical choices, particularly in the acquisition of certain machines and in the treatment of by-products.
Of course, there are still adjustments to be made depending on the type of co-product, but with our first ingredients, we've reached an important milestone.
What are your next goals or announcements?
We recently finalized a round of financing of over 4 million euros, marking a major milestone for Fungu'it. This will enable us to finance the setting up of our own R&D and production pilot plant, located on the Genopole site.
Our next objectives are therefore focused on scaling up: we want to industrialize our technology in a standardized and reproducible way, with the ambition of acquiring solid specifications with a view, eventually, to setting up our own plant. This involves a major scale-up of the process.
At the same time, we are continuing to develop new ingredients by testing other fungal strains and new co-products, in order to broaden our product portfolio.
Finally, we are currently recruiting, particularly for technical profiles in biotechnology, to strengthen our team and support this new phase of growth.
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