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Enzidia has signed a long-term joint development agreement with Refine Biology and Asia Aroma to bring fermentation-derived bio-vanillin to market — combining enzyme innovation, fermentation scale-up, and global flavor-industry distribution into one partnership.
A long-term joint development and commercialization agreement unites enzyme and synbio innovation, fermentation scale-up, and global market access — closing the three-link chain from day one.
Kongens Lyngby, Denmark — June 16, 2026
Today we're announcing a partnership that's been a long time in the making. Enzidia, Refine Biology, and Asia Aroma have signed a long-term joint development and commercialization agreement to bring fermentation-derived bio-vanillin to market.
Vanillin is one of the world's most-used flavor molecules — a ~$1B market still made mostly from petrochemicals. Natural vanilla-bean extract is scarce and expensive; existing bio-based routes depend on costly feedstocks that limit their reach. The gap in between — sustainable bio-vanillin at industrial scale and low cost — is what this partnership is built to deliver:
→ Enzidia (Denmark) — efficient industrial strain development powered by a breakthrough enzyme acceleration platform
→ Refine Biology (China) — fermentation scale-up, with extensive expertise in industrial-scale food-ingredient biomanufacturing
→ Asia Aroma (China and Thailand) — a major player in the global flavor and fragrance markets, and the largest supplier to the existing bio-based vanillin market
In industrial biotech, people have been learning painful lessons that upstream technology is only one link of a three-part chain. Promising technologies have stalled at scale-up, and others at market access. Any weak link can stop the whole project from reaching commercial success.
We built this coalition so the two downstream links are in place from day one.
That leaves the one variable Enzidia has the most control over as a technology company: the technology itself. We've already obtained important early validation — our platform can significantly debottleneck the key limiting enzyme in a low-cost bio-vanillin pathway. And we've built a world-class team covering every facet of industrial strain development. If there's one team in the world that can deliver this, it's us.
Each company owns one of the three vital links — and a proportionate share of the long-term returns. It's a structure that aligns our incentives to succeed together for many years to come.
We are grateful to the teams at Refine and Asia Aroma for the trust and the partnership. Let's make it happen!
For Enzidia, bio-vanillin is one of the first commercial applications of our platform — the first of many. We'll keep going until the entire global economy is defossilized, molecule by molecule.
About Enzidia
Enzidia ApS is a biomanufacturing innovation company founded in 2024 and headquartered in Denmark pioneering disruptive enzyme and strain engineering technologies. At the heart of the company’s innovation is The Enzidia Evolutionary Wheel, a breakthrough platform for accelerating the “hardware” of biomanufacturing - enzymes. Through a suite of breakthrough technologies, the platform exceeds mainstream enzyme screening throughput by millions of times while generating massive experimental datasets essential for AI-driven optimization. This unlocks bio-routes to compete with petrochemical production on both cost and scale. Enzidia is committed to collaborating with industry partners to unlock the full potential of biomanufacturing.
About Refine Biology
Refine Biology, founded in 2007 and headquartered in Beijing, is a National High-Tech Enterprise dedicated to the research, development, and production of natural health food ingredients and integrated systems. Guided by the principles of "health" and "nature," empowered by high technology, and driven by innovation, the company has built a diversified portfolio spanning natural sweeteners, botanical extracts and concentrates, functional plant ingredients, and raw botanical materials. Through synergy and complementarity, Refine Biology delivers efficient, stable, and standardized integrated ingredient systems. With its innovation R&D center (IDEALab) in Beijing, Refine Biology continues to drive the dual-engine model of "natural extraction + biosynthesis," building an intelligent manufacturing platform for natural ingredients. It operates three production bases in Yangling (Shaanxi), Chuzhou (Anhui), and Qufu (Shandong), ensuring consistent high quality and stable supply. Leveraging strong R&D capacity and extensive industry experience, Refine Biology provides the food, beverage, and nutraceutical industries with integrated solutions that balance taste, function, nutrition, and appearance.
About Asia Aroma
Kunshan Asia Aroma Corp., Ltd. (SZSE: 301220), a public company founded in 1996 and headquartered in Kunshan, Jiangsu, is a leading high-tech developer and manufacturer of high-quality flavor and fragrance ingredients, spanning natural flavors, synthetic aromatics, and cooling agents across more than 160 products. Originally focused on natural vanillin, the company has grown into an important global supplier to the F&F industry, with long-standing partnerships with international leaders such as Givaudan, Firmenich, and ABT, as well as consumer brands including Mars Wrigley, Mondelēz, and Colgate. Asia Aroma operates an integrated global footprint, with production bases across China, a U.S. sales hub (Asia Aroma Holding, Inc., New Jersey), and a recently expanded biotechnology manufacturing site in Thailand at the 304 Industrial Park, advancing its capabilities in sustainable biochemical production for the food, beverage, and personal care industries.
