The Healthy Grain (THG) company has raised US$8 million of external capital from the Teijin Group of Japan.
THG specializes in commercializing non-GMO, nutritionally superior wholegrains with substantiated health claim benefits.
It has an exclusive portfolio of these grains, protected by trademarks such as BARLEYmax wholegrain and Kebari hulless barley.
Teijin is a global business with sales of US$7.4 billion as of 2015, and will join Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and Australian Capital Ventures Limited as the three major shareholders in THG.
The new investment was THG’s first external capital deal.
Meanwhile, Teijin has test-marketed BARLEYmax products in Japan and is in the final stages of a formal market launch.
“We have been working with Teijin for over two years to evaluate the potential for BARLEYmax foods in Japan,” says Robert Burbury, CEO of THG.
BARLEYmax provides increased levels of key components such as dietary fiber, resistant starch and protein, while also having a low glycemic index.
The product can help reduce the risk of major chronic disease including colorectal cancer, obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
BARLEYmax wholegrain is used in health foods such as breakfast cereals, bread and muesli bars, and has been available to the Australian market for several years.
In June 2016, THG signed an exclusive global license with CSIRO to commercialize Kebari barley for food, which is recognized as gluten free in North America and Europe.
