Luxury Fashion Maker Kering Backs Lab-Grown Leather Startup

(Bloomberg) -- A California-based startup making cell-cultivated leather has raised $46 million in funding from investors including Kering SA, the maker of brands such as Gucci and Saint Laurent.

VitroLabs Inc. makes cellular-cultivated leather that replicates the structure of animal hides. It will use the funding to scale-up its operations and expects to start pilot manufacturing this spring, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

The startup is the latest company to tap investor funding to develop alternative materials that replicate animal products. The sector is experiencing a growth spurt this year as brands demand more sustainable options. The 95 firms in the space raised an estimated $980 million last year, double the amount in 2020, according to the nonprofit Material Innovation Initiative.

More than half of the firms have launched since 2014 and a majority of them are focused on creating leather-like material from mushroom roots, known as mycelium, as well as pineapples, cactus, other organic ingredients or from stem-cell technology, such as VitroLabs. Others are looking at fabrics including silk and wool.

While brands have sold products marketed as “vegan” leather for years, some of those products are simply a version of pleather, made from plastic. The new wave of biotech startups are trying to avoid plastic altogether or cut the amount used to bind the organic materials.

Companies are also working on making cheese and milk substitutes using a technology called precision fermentation, but lab-grown leather may face fewer regulatory hurdles to come to market than cultivated foods.

VitroLabs said it's the first alternative materials company that a major luxury group like Kering has invested in. Agronomics Ltd. and actor Leonardo DiCaprio also took part in the funding round.