BioHarvest Sciences (NASDAQ:BHST) outlined its strategy to expand its plant cell biology platform across nutraceutical, cosmeceutical, pharmaceutical and nutrition markets, highlighting its direct-to-consumer VINIA product, contract development and manufacturing activities, and plans for added production capacity.
During the presentation, the company said its Botanical Synthesis technology is designed to produce plant-based compounds without growing plants at agricultural scale. The process begins with a plant sample, from which BioHarvest isolates plant cells and creates cell banks. Those cells are then propagated in bioreactors in recurring production cycles, dried into powder and incorporated into products such as capsules or food ingredients.
VINIA Provides Commercial Validation
BioHarvest identified VINIA, its red grape cell-based product, as the first commercial validation of its technology. The company said cumulative sales of VINIA have exceeded $100 million and that the product generated a portion of its approximately $35 million in revenue last year.
According to the presentation, VINIA contains piceid resveratrol and is marketed around blood-flow benefits. BioHarvest said a 400-milligram capsule contains the equivalent concentration of compounds found in 1,000 grapes, without sugar, or in a bottle of red wine, without alcohol or sugar.
The company sells VINIA directly to consumers through its website, while approximately 20% of revenue comes from Amazon, according to the presentation. BioHarvest guided for 2026 direct-to-consumer revenue of $33 million to $35 million.
BioHarvest said it has invested approximately $100 million in its technology and holds 15 patents. The company characterized its platform as capable of improving the concentration of selected active molecules while reducing or eliminating compounds it does not seek to produce.
CDMO Pipeline and Revenue Model
Beyond VINIA, BioHarvest operates as a contract development and manufacturing organization, or CDMO, serving companies seeking proprietary, natural-based compounds. The company said it has entered four partnerships spanning the sectors it targets and generated more than $2 million in CDMO revenue last year.
BioHarvest said its CDMO work currently generates development revenue, with manufacturing revenue and royalties expected to begin contributing in 2027 and beyond. The company described a staged development model in which initial work generally generates $500,000 to $1 million, followed by subsequent stages that each generate approximately $1 million.
The company’s development pipeline includes:
- An olive-based product containing verbascoside, which BioHarvest said is amplified 15 times from its original concentration and has completed development stages for manufacturing.
- A pomegranate-based program involving PGG.
- Two molecules under development for natural sweetener supplier Tate & Lyle.
- A saffron program involving safranal, picrocrocin and crocin for culinary, dietary supplement and health-related applications.
- A complex aromatic compound derived from a tree associated with a high-end fragrance market.
BioHarvest said it recently announced a manufacturing and supply agreement covering 20 tons of the fragrance compound during 2027 and 2028. The company estimated the agreement’s value at between $20 million and $30 million. It said the arrangement could reduce the need to cut trees for the source material and could provide an entry point into additional high-end fragrance compounds with similar chemistry.
The company said it retains a 20% ownership interest in the fragrance molecule and a 25% ownership interest in the saffron molecule. It also said future large-scale customers could potentially license manufacturing rights and pay royalties.
Capacity Expansion and 2026 Outlook
BioHarvest said its current manufacturing facility has annual capacity of 20 to 25 tons. It is building an additional manufacturing facility, funded in part by $21 million raised late last year. The company said the new capacity is intended to support VINIA growth as well as future production of fragrance and other compounds expected to enter manufacturing in 2028 and beyond.
The company also highlighted investments in artificial intelligence and machine-learning tools intended to speed development, predict cell-growth conditions, monitor manufacturing activity and reduce contamination-related risks. BioHarvest said it has developed a receptor model designed to assess whether molecules under development can bind to receptors of interest.
For 2026, BioHarvest guided for CDMO revenue of more than double its 2025 level, reaching $4 million to $5 million. Including VINIA manufacturing within the CDMO category, the company said it projects CDMO-related revenue of $12 million to $14 million and consolidated revenue of $37 million to $40 million for the year.
About BioHarvest Sciences (NASDAQ:BHST)
BioHarvest Sciences Inc is a biotechnology company that specializes in the development and commercialization of plant-based active ingredients through proprietary cell-culture technology. By growing undifferentiated plant cells in controlled bioreactor environments, the company aims to produce full-spectrum phytonutrients and botanical compounds that are difficult to obtain through traditional farming methods. This approach is designed to deliver consistent, high-purity extracts with reduced environmental impact and supply-chain variability.
The company’s product portfolio focuses on applications across the cosmeceutical, nutraceutical and health-and-wellness markets.
