Amyris, Inc. (Emeryville, Calif.) announced that it has acquired Ingredion’s 31% stake in the RealSweet Joint Venture to take full ownership of the industrial precision fermentation plant in Barra Bonita, Brazil. This follows an agreement with Ingredion to wind down their RealSweet joint venture, whereby Ingredion will gain exclusive access to Amyris’ technology to manufacture and commercialize fermented Reb M, with Amyris earning royalties on Ingredion’s future sales of fermented Reb M.
In line with the approval and funding of the company’s 2030 strategic plan announced last November, Amyris is completing construction of the fourth independent precision fermentation line at the Barra Bonita plant. This line, which will be operational in early 2026, will further increase capacity and flexibility for producing specialty ingredients.
“Resuming full ownership and control of our state-of-the-art precision fermentation facility in Barra Bonita is an important milestone that will enable us to optimize our manufacturing portfolio to drive profitability and serve our customers most effectively,” said Kathy Fortmann, Amyris’ Chief Executive Officer. “We are also delighted to announce our additional investment in capacity at Barra Bonita, which will maximize flexibility of our plant and accelerate development and commercialization of innovative and sustainable products.”
“With exclusive access to Amyris’ fermented Reb M technology, we are excited about meeting the growing global demand for our comprehensive Stevia portfolio, what we call the ‘perfectly sweet trifecta’ of extracted, bioconverted and fermented Reb M,” commented Jim Zallie, Ingredion’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
“This trifecta enables us to provide nature-based, clean-label sugar-reduction solutions meeting the needs of all our customers. We look forward to continuing to grow the market for fermented RebM,” added Nate Yates, Vice President and General Manager of Sugar Reduction and Fiber Fortification at Ingredion.