April 6, 2022

Denofa and Benson Hill partner to enter Northern European aquafeed market

Benson Hill, Inc., a food tech company unlocking the natural genetic diversity of plants, and Denofa, the leading protein producer in Scandinavia, have announced on April 5 a plan to form a strategic alliance to introduce sustainable soy protein ingredients into the Northern European aquaculture feed market.

Northern Europe serves as the world leader in salmon aquaculture. Over half of regional production is based in Norway where Denofa owns a port and extensive infrastructure.

Together, both Denofa and Benson Hill plan to deliver sustainable, traceable, non-genetically modified organism (GMO) soy ingredients with novel benefits to serve the region.

"The European aquaculture market is growing rapidly, and Benson Hill's proven performance soy ingredients will be an important ingredient in fish feed. Denofa has a long history of providing traceable non-GMO, sustainable and certified soy products to the Scandinavian agricultural feed and food market, and we are now eager together with Benson Hill to offer good solutions for the aquaculture segment as well," said Hans Petter Olsen, chief executive officer of Denofa. "Benson Hill shares our commitment to reliability and provides traceability throughout the value chain from the farm through ingredient production. We look forward to a lasting partnership."

Benson Hill uses advanced breeding techniques to leverage nature's diversity within plants and develop improved ingredients beginning with better seed.

The company's CleanCRUSH™ ingredients, derived from its 'ultra-high' protein, low anti-nutrient soybeans, avoid the need for costly concentrating steps typically required for commodity soybeans.

CleanCRUSH™ ingredients are designed as a less-processed alternative to feed-grade soy protein concentrate (SPC) and require up to 83% less water and up to 89% less carbon emissions to produce per unit of protein compared to non-US sourced feed-grade SPC accounting for the impacts of deforestation.

CleanCRUSH™ ingredients demonstrate equivalent performance to an SPC-based diet in trout and Atlantic salmon. The products also demonstrate strong performance when replacing fishmeal in pacific white shrimp, yellowtail and cobia.

"Denofa is a trusted leader in the soy industry renowned for its extensive networks and highest standards of quality and sustainability," said Andres Martin, executive vice president and international general manager at Benson Hill. "Our partnership will deliver a sustainable portfolio of innovative soy ingredients that create value in the European aquaculture market. We are thrilled to be working together."

- Benson Hill