Founded: 2001
Headquarters: Winchester, Hampshire
Investors: WHEB Ventures, Oxford Capital Partners, Entrepreneurs Fund, MTI, Hygea VCT
Total invested: £13m
By 2050 it is estimated that world production of food will need to increase by 70% to feed a population of 9.1 billion. To do this, more food needs to be grown in a sustainable manner with considerably less waste. At present, approximately half of all food and fibre produced worldwide is lost to field and storage pests. This level of waste can be reduced by effective pest management.
However, with growing numbers of pesticide resistant insects and consumer and government-backed regulatory pressure to reduce the use of pesticides, bio-friendly alternatives have to be found. The world pesticide market was worth US$43bn in 2009. The bio-pesticide market is the fastest growing element of this and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 15.6% reaching a value of US$3.3bn in 2014.
In 2001, Exosect stepped into this market. It has developed a range of cost effective and environmentally benign alternatives to pesticides for insect control. Its stated mission is to discover, develop and commercialise safe, sustainable solutions for the food industry that protect food from insect damage and disease whilst reducing use of and dependence on traditional chemical pest control products.
The business does this through its patented Entostat powder technology, which helps growers, producers and processors to achieve zero residues in their crops and foods to produce high quality food for the consumer. It works by luring pests to a small quantity of the pheromone-loaded powder, where they become coated in the material. The insects then become confused and unable to find a mate. Pheromone control is emerging as a cornerstone in the strategies recommended by supermarkets to growers of high value crops
Exosect currently has 41 patents and 28 national product registrations, and has launched in the UK, US, South Africa, New Zealand and Belgium. It is pursuing a dual strategy of direct sales and licensing, enabling further investment into the new product pipeline. In 2010 the company sold a bee health product to Bayer Crop Science.
Based near Winchester, Hampshire, Exosect has 30 employees, headed up by Managing Director Martin Brown, who was appointed in 2006. Martin has over 25 years experience in agrochemical sales, marketing and business operations roles with ICI, Astra Zeneca and Syngenta, covering the UK, Africa, Middle East, Turkey, Pakistan and Eastern Europe.
To date, Exosect has raised £13m of venture capital, most recently in June when it received follow-on funding from its existing investor base which includes WHEB Ventures, Oxford Capital Partners, Entrepreneurs Fund, MTI (through its UMIP Premier Fund) and Hygea VCT.
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