Arda’s process uses the waste barley grain from the brewing industry to produce a material that can be used in fashion, home goods, and the auto industry. The company was founded in 2022 by Edward TJ Mitchell and Brett Cotten, who met through global talent investor Entrepreneur First. Edward holds a PhD in chemistry, and Brett has worked across the alternative protein sector from startups to investors. The company is located in The Leather Market building near London Bridge and is sourcing feedstock from breweries along the Bermondsey Beer Mile in South London. Arda’s material is trade-named New Grain™.
The round was led by clean-tech venture capital fund Clean Green Fund with participation from Plug and Play, Serpentine Ventures, Satgana, and a group of angel investors from alternative protein, fashion, and the climate tech ecosystem.
“Many people believe leather is a by-product of cows; it’s really more of a co-product that subsidizes the continuation of animal agriculture,” Brett Cotten, CEO of Arda, said in a press statement. “The spent grain from breweries is typically burned, sent to landfill, anaerobically digested into gas, or fed to animals as cheap feed — all very low-value use cases. I am thrilled that we can skip the cow to create a truly novel product that to date has been 100% animal and plastic-free. Now we can drink our beer and wear it too.”