Startups in pesticide alternatives and novel foods often seek approvals in the U.S. or Latin America over Europe. Many startups developing pesticide alternatives and new food solutions are opting to seek regulatory approvals in the United States or Latin America rather than in Europe, citing the slow approval processes on the continent. Translated from a recent Les Echos article, which features insights from Romain Sautrau, partner at Supernova Invest.
As the Salon de l’Agriculture opened this weekend under a calmer atmosphere following a turbulent 2024 edition, a different issue is troubling some startups in the sector: securing market authorizations in France and Europe.
“This has always been our battle,” says Jérôme Leroy, president of La Ferme Digitale, an association uniting French agritech startups.
The challenge primarily affects startups developing new molecules for biosolutions—pesticide alternatives—as well as those working on cultivated meat and novel ingredients. These companies face lengthy and costly regulatory approval processes at both the French and European levels, creating significant hurdles for young ventures looking to commercialize their products.
“In France and Europe, the ecosystem for new molecules is thriving with startups. But in Brazil, approval takes less than a year, and in the United States, two to three years, whereas in Europe, it can take between five and ten years.
For a startup that needs to scale quickly and generate revenue, certain geographies become more attractive,” explains Romain Sautrau, partner at Supernova Invest, a venture capital fund.
Pushing for international expansion
Many startups are already adapting to this reality. Antofénol (biocontrol) opted to seek U.S. approval before European approval. Micropep’s biofungicide is expected to launch in 2026, first in Latin America, then in the U.S.
In synthetic casein (a milk alternative), Standing Ovation has partnered with Bel Group to introduce a vegan Babybel in the U.S. market before expanding further.
Beyond the endless debate over whether strict regulations foster or hinder innovation, another key issue is whether startups can compete on equal footing with large corporations.
“It’s also a matter of expertise. Large companies have greater access to legal teams that can handle market authorization requests costing several million euros. Training agritech startups in this area is essential,” says Jérôme Leroy.
For startups, one of the benefits of seeking approvals abroad is the acceleration of their international expansion. “Once you accept the reality, you realize that the U.S. market remains highly dynamic and a major source of innovation in this field,” notes Vincent Usache, CEO of Microphyt, a startup developing ingredients derived from microalgae. He adds, “Since this affects all startups, investors have already factored it into their strategies.”
Shifting Strategies
“We have completely revised our strategic roadmap, focusing our efforts on tropical regions like Brazil. If I prioritize Europe, I won’t have market authorization for another ten years,” explains Alain Thibault, founder of Agriodor. His startup develops pheromones to combat pests affecting sugar beets and fruit flies. “It’s all the more absurd since we use three molecules that are already approved for use in ice cream and sunscreen,” he adds.
For sugar beets, however, Thibault recently secured a temporary exemption to market his product in France in collaboration with Syngenta.
Regulatory changes may be on the horizon in Europe. By the end of 2025, Brussels is expected to present a proposal allowing EU member states to grant provisional authorizations for biocontrol products while their evaluation is still underway and to establish an accelerated approval process for such innovations.
