Launched "Euglena Sustainable Ventures" to accelerate investment in startups
Invested in βace, Inc. as the first project

Euglena Co., Ltd.

　Euglena Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President: Mitsuru Izumo, hereinafter "Euglena Euglena Sustainable Ventures", a capital and business alliance program for startup venture companies. I did. Going forward, we will accelerate investment in start-ups and venture companies, which will lead to further business growth for the entire group and more sustainable transformation of society. Then, on July 8, 2020, as the first project of this program, we invested in βace Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, CEO: Takatsugu Yamashita, hereinafter "βace"), which is growing rapidly in the D2C area. The we.

■ Background
　So far, we have "Euglena 's sales channels and production / research functions", "created growth and synergies by utilizing the healthcare business base", and "acquired a business base for expanding our business portfolio and expanding into new fields". We have promoted M & A strategies under the three themes of. Under these circumstances, we have implemented capital and business alliances with start-ups and venture companies in various fields with the aim of "acquiring a business foundation for expanding our business portfolio and expanding into new fields." In addition, through the Real Tech Fund, we have actively invested in R & D-type innovative technology venture companies that contribute to solving the problems of the earth and humankind. The main investment results in the past are as follows.

<Investment record>
・ Euglena Co., Ltd .:
　Amelieff Corporation (https://amelieff.jp/)
　Okinawa Basketball Co., Ltd. (https://goldenkings.jp/)
　Pocket Marche Co., Ltd. (https://www.pocket-marche.com/)
　Medcare Co., Ltd. (https://www.medcare.jp/)
　Oriental Air Bridge Co., Ltd. (https://www.orc-air.co.jp/)
　Integriculture Co., Ltd. (https://integriculture.jp/)
　​JEPLAN, INC. (Https://www.jeplan.co.jp/)

・ Investment from Real Tech Fund:
　https://www.realtech.fund/archives/portfolio

■ Launch of capital and business alliance program
　We have decided to launch Euglena Sustainable Ventures", a capital and business alliance program, with the aim of further strengthening cooperation with start-up venture companies. Specifically, we Euglena, invest more aggressively in start-up venture companies, and actively build a network with entrepreneurs who go beyond investment and create a sustainable future together. I will continue. The outline of the capital and business alliance program is as follows.

* 1 Akihiko Nagata Profile After graduating from Keio University Faculty of Commerce, joined an independent private equity fund and belonged to the private equity and consulting departments. In 2008, he became Our Our has been in charge of business strategy, MA, financing, capital tie-up, public relations / IR, and management department. Familiar with the strategy and finance fields that support technology. Currently, as Vice President COO and Head of Healthcare Company, he is Our food, fuel, R & D, etc., and also serves as the representative of Japan's largest technical VC "Real Tech Fund".
* 2 Yuji Suzuki Profile After graduating from the Graduate School of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Tokyo, he belongs to the asset management department of a foreign investment bank. Since 2011, he has participated in the launch of an investment company and is involved in investment practices, post-investment turnarounds, and value enhancement. Since 2018, he has also been in charge of finance and corporate planning of startups, and has experience from financing to sale. Euglena Co., Ltd. from 2020

■ The first project of this program
　At the same time as the launch of this program, on July 8, 2020, as the first project, we invested in βace, which is growing rapidly in the D2C area. βace currently operates the chocolate brand Minimal -Bean to Bar Chocolate- (hereinafter referred to as "Minimal") with the aim of creating a global brand originating in Japan. Minimal manages everything from the purchase of cacao, which is the raw material, to the production of specialty chocolate in its own workshop, and sells it at four stores in Tokyo and online stores. The raw material cacao visits farms just below the equator, provides technical support for quality improvement and income improvement, and purchases through fair trade, and is also used for JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) ODA project survey. It was adopted and carried out activities. Specialty chocolates are manufactured by hand-crafted high-quality products, with craftsmen who have honed their skills at three-star restaurants in Italy, MOF (Meilleur Ouvrier de France) patisserie, and long-established domestic patisserie. While receiving numerous awards at international competitions specializing in chocolate for careful manufacturing, it is also attracting attention in the D2C area, receiving the WIRED Audi INNOVATION AWARD 2017 award, posting on more than 1,500 media, and D2C related events. We are aiming for growth by balancing social impact and business impact, such as taking the stage. https://mini-mal.tokyo/

　Through this program, we will continue to accelerate investment in start-up venture companies, aiming for further business growth of the Group and more sustainable transformation of society through partnerships with start-up venture companies. I will.

* Added on July 16, 2020: There was an error in the description and it was corrected.

<About Euglena Co., Ltd.>
In 2005, we succeeded in establishing the world's first edible outdoor mass culture technology for the Euglena In Euglena and Chlorella, we are also conducting research toward the production of biofuels. Euglena GENKI Program, which has been in operation since 2014 to deliver Euglena cookies with abundant nutrients to children in Bangladesh, will be expanded to all group products including cosmetics from April 2019. Listed on TSE Mothers in December 2012. TSE First Section market change in December 2014. The management philosophy is "to make people and the earth healthy". https://euglena.jp

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-Contact for inquiries from the press-
Euglena Co., Ltd. Corporate Communication Division