Ironic Biotech: Making iron absorption as easy as drinking water

At StartLife’s 15th anniversary celebration in Ede, eleven pioneering agrifoodtech startups took the stage to show how science and entrepreneurship can reshape the future of food. From smarter biostimulants and energy-efficient farming robots to next-generation proteins and nutrient innovations, each team presented a bold solution to one of the world’s most urgent challenges: feeding a growing population within planetary limits. In this IO+ series, we highlight their stories; not just the technologies they’re building, but also their vision and the advice they received from the expert panels. Today, we focus on Ironic Biotech.

“Two billion people around the world suffer from iron deficiency or anemia,” Nelida Leiva Eriksson began her talk at StartLife’s Demo Day. “That’s one in four of us.”

On the screen behind her, a chart showed a sharp rise in hospital admissions for nutritional diseases in the UK over the past decade, up 40%. “And the blue section,” she said, pointing to the largest bar, “is iron deficiency. It’s by far the biggest problem.”

Iron deficiency doesn’t just cause fatigue. “It can also lead to depression and even neurotypical disorders,” Leiva Eriksson explained. Yet, despite its scale, the problem persists, because current supplements are, in her words, “bad solutions.”

“They are poorly absorbed,” she said, “and they make you sick.”

A red drink with the power of meat

That’s why her company, Ironic Biotech, has engineered a breakthrough ingredient: a natural protein that delivers iron to the body with the same efficiency as meat. “The red drink you saw me drinking,” she told the audience, “contains our patented iron-binding protein. It’s extremely effective at getting iron into your body, so much that its bioavailability is similar to that of meat.”

The results are striking. In animal studies, chickens fed with Ironic’s protein absorbed iron efficiently without the side effects typical of commercial iron supplements. “The chickens taking our ingredient didn’t get constipated,” she said, half-smiling. “The ones on traditional iron supplements, they really did.”

Engineering bioavailability

The key innovation is in biochemistry. Ironic Biotech has designed a bioidentical protein that binds and releases iron in the body as efficiently as hemoglobin from animal sources, but is produced without any animal material.

This makes it suitable for a range of products, from nutraceuticals and functional beverages to food fortification and medical nutrition. “We can integrate our ingredient across multiple segments,” Leiva Eriksson said. “And in the U.S. alone, that market is worth $40 billion.”

The startup, based in Lund, Sweden, consists of a small but experienced team. “We are five people,” she said. “And each of us is personally connected to this mission, either because we have suffered from iron deficiency ourselves, or because someone we love has.” Between them, the team brings over two decades of expertise in iron-binding proteins, biotech development, and technology transfer for scale-up.

A mission that’s personal

Leiva Eriksson’s personal energy on stage reflected both scientific precision and a moral drive. “We want to defeat iron deficiency and anemia,” she said simply. “For good.”

But as her startup gains traction, new questions arise; not only about what they’ve built, but how to bring it to market.

Her question to the panel was candid: “How can we better highlight the uniqueness of our ingredient and avoid getting lost in the crowded supplement market? If you Google ‘iron supplement,’ you get millions of results. How do we make Ironic shine there?”

From science to story

The panelists praised her science but encouraged her to think beyond it. “You have a fantastic story,” one said. “But you need to decide who it’s for. Patients? Consumers? Pharmacies? Endorsement channels like specialized drugstores could help, because there you can tell a story.”

Another suggested a practical path. “If you’re going B2C, you’ll need marketing power and the right influencers; that’s a different game. But if you stay B2B, you can speak the industry's language. Focus on explaining why your ingredient’s bioavailability is superior and what its cost-in-use is. That’s what food and supplement companies want to know.”

Leiva Eriksson nodded. “We started as B2B,” she said, “but we’re evaluating B2C too. It’s hard to communicate directly with consumers about something so technical, but we’re learning.”

Doctors, not just data

One of the most compelling parts of Ironic Biotech’s story is how it bridges biotech with medicine. When asked if she had spoken to nutritionists or doctors, Leiva Eriksson’s answer was emphatic. “Yes, we’re in close contact with the National Bleeding Disorders Association in the U.S., and the director of the World Hematologist Association. We’re also reaching out to maternity clinics and healthcare networks, because that’s where people can be diagnosed and recommended the right supplement.”

The company is currently prioritizing the U.S. market, where regulatory approval is faster. “Europe will come next,” she said. “But it takes time, normally two to three years. We’re taking one beast at a time.”

From fatigue to focus

Iron deficiency is often invisible, hidden behind tiredness, low mood, or poor concentration. Ironic Biotech aims to make that invisibility impossible to ignore. Their ingredient could redefine how the world consumes iron: naturally, efficiently, and safely.

“I think our biggest challenge now,” Leiva Eriksson said afterward, “is not proving that it works, because we’ve done that. It’s telling the story in a way that people can understand and connect with.”

In a world still struggling to make healthy choices that truly work, Ironic Biotech might be the first company to make iron feel human again.

Series

15 years Startlife

Read about all the startups that were part of StartLife’s 15th anniversary Demo Day.

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