Green Zebras with Voucher for Innovation for further development of extraction technology

For several years, many industries have seen a return to natural products and the use of plant extracts. Hemp, for a long time viewed only through the prism of cannabis, used recreationally in obvious violation of the law, has also returned to favor. Today, knowledge of THC-free fibrous hemp and its beneficial preventive effects is much more widespread than it was just a few years ago, so more and more industries are choosing to use it in their products.

The scale of investment in technological facilities enabling qualitative extraction of biologically active substances from herbs and hemp is often beyond the reach of smaller domestic companies using plant extracts in their products. The Wroclaw-based company Green Zebras responds to the need of such entities, providing extraction services for them, without the intention of creating its own products, competing with service recipients.

“Just a year ago, our goal was to create a technology to extract extracts with a rich profile of phytochemicals found in plants from dried plants. Today, the technology has been fully tested. Our value is also our team of experienced specialists, with knowledge that is unique on the market. We want Green Zebras to become one of the major player in the Polish market for processing and obtaining high-quality extracts from various species of plants grown in this part of Europe, and that the extracts produced on the Vistula replace those imported today from Asia.”
– says PhD Tomasz Stuczyński, a member of Green Zebras’ board of directors.

Green Zebras cuts vouchers from its technology

The company has just received PLN 85 thousand in support for further development of its extraction technology under the “Voucher for Innovation”.  The grant, awarded to companies in Lower Silesia, finances research services, consultations with scientific units and a technology audit. What’s more, the project also funds research and development work on the implementation of or development of the product and technology.

“We will use the grant to identify the phytochemical composition of new plant extracts plant on the basis of analytical results based on the most advanced analytical techniques – the so-called full metabolomics. We will obtain a more complete identification of biologically active compounds in fibrous hemp than before. Hemp is of interest to us because of current trends, but our capabilities are much broader – in parallel, we are working on the development and implementation of optimal extraction methods for many plant species, including e.g. hops and herbs containing secondary metabolites, which are increasingly used as nutraceuticals in therapies and prevention.” – PhD Tomasz Stuczyński explains.

Legal hemp for health

CBD pastes and oils are used in many industries, including the cosmetics, food and pharmaceuticals. Despite the very low content of psychoactive THC in fiber hemp, its cultivation and marketing of dried hemp is regulated by the Anti-Drug Addiction Act. The growing demand for hemp extracts is being met by amendments to this law, which raise the hitherto very strict limits on the level of THC allowed in fiber hemp, but also simplify the entire process of supervising its cultivation and purchase.

“We have obtained all the necessary approvals and are already processing orders for fiber hemp extracts. There is a lot of interest in our hemp extraction services because we not only have great equipment, but also technological experience. Trying to be one step ahead, as one of the few entities in Poland, we have the technical facilities to obtain THC-free extracts from fibrous hemp. Customers are also convinced by our individual approach and the fact that we have positioned ourselves as subcontractors, not as their competitors.”
– says Andriy Vlakh, a proxy at Green Zebras and one of the company’s founders, while also managing the Kvarko Fund.

Extract market continues to grow

The global market for herbal extracts reached $34.4 billion in 2021 (the herbal extracts segment is estimated at $8.70 billion), and its projected value for 2027 was estimated at $61.5 billion, averaging annual value growth of 12.3 percent. The market for the cannabis cultivation and processing industry is equally optimistic, growing at a rapid pace not only in Poland, but around the world. Its global size was estimated at $4.13 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach a compound annual growth rate of 16.8 percent between 2022 and 2030.

GREEN ZEBRAS is a startup from Wroclaw, Poland, works with entities using plant extracts in production to create their own products: it advises, conducts extraction and performs analytical services. It proposes specific solutions to customers, customizing the technological process to meet the individual needs of producers. In processing, the company focuses on the high quality of the extracts it obtains – without impurities or hazardous substances. The team consists of specialists in chemistry, chemical technology and herbal medicine. The company’s mission is to create a technological base for entities operating in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical markets. Green Zebras operates as part of a capital group associated with the Kvarko investment fund, which supports technology startups.