MustGrow Biologics Corp. (MGRO) Earnings Call Transcript
October 28, 2026
Earnings Call Speaker Segments
Hi. I'm Jim Gordon, and you're watching Market One Minute. Joining us is Colin Bletsky. He's the COO and Director of MustGrow Biologics. And joining us for the first time is Ralf Glaubitz. He's the Head of Crop Protection Product Team Biologicals at Bayer AG. Colin, welcome back. And as I mentioned, Ralf, welcome for the first time.
Thanks for having me again, Jim.
Thank you. Welcome, Jim.
Okay. Colin, I'm going to start with you, and let's start at the 30,000-foot level. How big is this global biological agricultural opportunity today? And why is this moment becoming a real commercial category rather than just a niche?
So today, Jim, if you look at the global market, it is growing, and it has been growing for the past roughly 2 to 3 decades. Currently, they're expecting it to be in that $20 billion mark, growing at a mid-teens CAGR over the next roughly 5 to 8 years. But it relatively is still quite small. And I'll let Ralf go into it a bit more as he's got a lot of experience in this side, especially on that global ag chem and marketplace. But if you think of the global $380 billion marketplace for chemicals, fertilizers, biologicals altogether, it is still relatively small but growing. And in my experience, as a farmer myself, being with MustGrow, a small company, we do see a tremendous opportunity in this space.
Ralf, your thoughts?
Yes. Thank you for this question in the first place, and I would maybe add here. So what we currently see is that consumers on the one hand side are increasingly care more about how their food is being produced. That's at least what we see from a business context, but also when talking to family and friends. And farmers, on the other hand side, they are responding by actively seeking and adopting more solutions. And that leads to that the biological industry and also biological options are available and growing tremendously. And I can confirm that market research, some of the numbers that Colin has alluded to. And when it may be more comes to our biological portfolio, which is already quite extensive and varied this is more than biologicals and microbials beforehand. It also includes pheromones, plant extracts, botanicals, synthetic biology and many, many more.
And Colin, back to you. From MustGrow's side, as a smaller innovator operating in such a large market, where do you see the biggest opportunity? And what does it take for a company your size to compete in it?
Yes. I would say the largest opportunity, as Ralf said, is really satisfying that consumer demand about being maybe a little bit more health conscious, looking at different alternatives. But looking at a company as ours to be able to compete, it comes down to the science. We have to have a product that works. And I think the last time we talked to Jim, I am a farmer. I need something that works on my farm and synthetic chemistries, fertilizers have done that for the past 30, 40, 50 decades, and they've worked. Where I see a lot of opportunity as an organization like ours is to work with companies like Bayer in this space, really understanding the science, really driving it to a farm gate level where farmers have great options to be able to put these biologicals in. It's no longer snake oils. They're no longer products that don't work. They're products that have a true fit. And I think for a company like us, it's with working with groups like Bayer to really understand the science to really prove it to farmers, but it's also having a baseline grade product. And that's where I believe with MustGrow that we have that product with both TerraMG and TerraSante to go into these markets and really work with companies to show the farmer that value. And that's the key point.
Ralf, let's talk about the partnership in the regions. Why did this partnership begin in Europe, the Middle East and Africa specifically and not North America or another region?
Yes. Let me maybe start here with giving a little bit of a broader context, and I would distinguish between the global potential and also some regional drivers. So first of all, for biologicals, we do see very strong global opportunities across all regions. But Europe, in particular, is important to us because of its increasingly stringent regulatory environment. And there are fewer chemical crop protection products available for European farmers. And we do see further restrictions, for example, also on synthetic fertilizer. So this is driving especially European farmers to adopt new technologies. And for us, biologicals in general, create new opportunities and possibilities for growers that simply didn't exist beforehand. Europe and especially the high-value fruits and veg segment is a high priority in our Bayer strategy. And nematodes, they cause severe crop losses and damages in both yield on the one hand side and also quality in many, many crops, but particular in the fruits and veg segment. And TerraMG as a product aligns here very, very well with the growing demand for effective biological alternatives.
Colin, do you want to add something there?
I don't know if I need to. Ralf answered it very clearly and very well. I would say for us at MustGrow, the why with Europe, Middle East and Africa being a small organization, we don't have the experience. We don't have the sales and the research and regulatory people on the ground. So working with Bayer to really penetrate that region, which is extremely important and moving in that space was a key driver for us to look at those areas. In North America, I would say it's close to home. It's an area we have expertise, an area we're working already. And it's an area that MustGrow can drive and help initially take that start on. But in Europe, we did not have any of that expertise, and that's where Bayer came in and really has taken it and ran with it.
And Ralf, Europe's regulatory environment is shifting quickly. We've got the EU Green Deal, the Farm to Fork Strategy and active debate right now over synthetic pesticide reapprovals. How does that regulatory backdrop shape the opportunity for MustGrow's TerraMG in the region?
Building on what I have said earlier, biologics have a significant role to play in the future of farming. They can address so many challenges that are relevant to agriculture today and also tomorrow, and they address topics such as registration, regulation but also residues resistance management and climate change. This is important, particularly important to growers in Europe, as I said, because they need more options to manage their unpredictable conditions, protect their crop potential and optimize performance as well. However, also here, innovation must reach the field at scale, you could say, and also in an economically viable way. Therefore, science-based approval processes and innovation-friendly regulation are foundational.
From MustGrow's perspective, what makes the EMEA a distinct market from North America in terms of grower needs, crop mix and registration pathways?
Building on what Ralf said, if you look at EMEA, the growers are very similar. A farmer wants to produce a top quality product, the highest yield possible. And so in that sense, farmers around the world is a farmer is a farmer is a farmer, whether you're in Europe, whether you're in the U.S. or whether you're in Middle East, Africa or even into Asia. But I think the unique difference from the North American market to Europe is, as Ralf mentioned, is the regulatory pathway and the consumer demand, consumer pushing on right now for more green biologicals. I would say the biggest difference between the 2 markets is just the absolute need and the current limitation and restrictions going forward on the synthetic chemistry, synthetic fertilizers in that region.
And Ralf, explain the milestone achievement announced on August 21. What work was completed to check the box? And what did your evaluations suggest about MustGrow's technology?
Let me bring you a broader context. Actually, it was a key technical milestone that we had achieved together to validate on the one hand side, the product handling and the formulation and on the other hand side, the biological performance or biological efficacy for the strategically important market. So when we look at the handling and the formulation part first, the objective was to confirm that TerraMG formulation is compatible with European farming practices and the standard application equipment. And all the studies that we concluded and conducted demonstrated that TerraMG can be handled and applied very effectively and ensuring a satisfactory user experience for our farmers here. And for the biological performance or biological efficacy on the other hand side, we were assessing under real field conditions, the field efficacy, especially again, soil-borne diseases as one important performance attribute. And all the results that we have concluded confirm that TerraMG delivers meaningful disease control under real field conditions.
Anything to add, Colin?
Jim, the main thing for us is having an organization like Bayer scrutinize and go through and work with the product. You're always going to have some failures along the way, but it's working together and looking towards solving those challenges. And I think for us, it's really around the performance of the technology. It's not a small molecule chemistry. It comes from nature. It is going to be a little bit more challenging to handle, but working together and providing the right recommendation, I think, is key. The product works. We know it can go through field conditions now. We know it's working on real-life farm level trials, and that's something that's key. And having Bayer put their stamp of approval behind it is very key for us. We like to say a feather in our cap. It's something we're very proud of.
Ralf, Bayer signed a commercial agreement with MustGrow back in December 2023. Now prior to that, Bayer had nearly a 2-year exclusive evaluation and testing period. What did the evaluation involve? And what was so enticing that it validated MustGrow's technology and led to this commercial partnership?
Well, indeed, I mean, this comes down to fundamentally 2 main elements. So first of all, Bayer is an innovation company, and therefore, we do have a data-driven and a science-based approach. So hence, we do a lot of testing and generating data for ourselves in order to get a better understanding of the technology, get a better understanding of the product. By the way, this is not only what we are doing for biologicals, but for all the technology platforms that we are operating in. But let me be a bit more specific here. So first of all, we do a lot of greenhouse and laboratory testing, followed by bringing the technology into the field to really see the performance under real world, real field conditions and get the validation that the product works and performs. But we also wanted to get a better understanding of a regulatory assessment that we did with internal, but also with external experts to get an idea what's the feasibility or what's the likelihood or registrability in the key markets, specifically here in the European Union. And we also wanted to assess what is the intellectual property and our freedom to operate situation here to get an understanding of what the performance and also the commercialization potential and opportunity is overall. However, in a more broader context, let me maybe add here. So we believe that good collaborations are based on a joint vision, shared values and everybody working towards the same goal. And also working together and having a mutual education and dialog to march towards the same goal is very important for us. So therefore, that during the testing period, almost 2 years, we work very, very closely together with Colin's team and the MustGrow organization. We got to know each other way better, and that led into the partnership with MustGrow.
And Colin, from MustGrow's perspective, what was the company looking for in an international commercial partner? And what have you observed with respect to Bayer's level of engagement and involvement in the development work that led to this important milestone?
As I mentioned before, Jim, it's really about scope, scale, understanding and the ability to take a product from that testing all the way through to commercialization. And for us, being a small organization, we were not able to do that within the European Union, within Middle East or Africa, and Bayer was able to provide that and is providing that. On respect to the engagement, I've always said this, and I think in every video, every talk I've ever done, we're extremely happy with the partnership. As any partnership, it's kind of like a marriage. Sometimes you have spats and you have to work through those challenges, but it's about having the like-minded individuals in that same goal. And I think that's -- Ralf explained it very clearly is we have to work together and work through those things first. And there's always going to be things you have to work through. But it's having a shared common goal, shared common objective, and it's having the like-minded individuals. So we could not be happier. Bayer has been a tremendous partner. They put a tremendous amount of work and effort into this. And in combination, I think we are very well down that pathway. And as MustGrow, we're very happy with how things have gone so far.
And Colin, how is Bayer's expertise fed up MustGrow's international commercial development? And what does Bayer specifically bring to the table?
As Ralf mentioned, every single product that you put into the agricultural space is heavily scrutinized, not only by farmers, but also by regulatory bodies and really the entire public. What Bayer has brought is really a lot of the science, a lot of the field testing, a lot of the regulatory work for that region specifically. So it's taking what we knew at MustGrow, taking what we've done and really driving it into that region. And as a small organization, like I said, I farm, I have a farm background. I've been with many different organizations. Nobody from large organization to small farmers believes a small company's data. We need to prove it. We need to continually prove our technology across many different regions, many different soil types with many different farmers. Bayer has that expertise on how to do so, and they are really helping us drive that in area. So on speeding it up, I would say, without Bayer, likely we would not be in that region to date, and we would be extending these regulatory pathways and commercial development significantly further. So for us, it adds tremendous value.
Let's get some closing thoughts in the few seconds we have left. Ralf, we'll start with you.
Yes. Thank you, Jim. And honestly, I truly value conversations like this one here today because they show that biologicals are no longer a niche segment or niche products. They're actually becoming key elements in the agricultural input market. So thank you for the great exchange that we had. And let me highlight maybe a couple of key points here in closing. So we strongly believe growers need more options to manage the uncertainties on their fields, protect the crop potential and also meet the rising expectations for more responsible food systems. Furthermore, I would say biologics, the way we see it are an essential complementary technology in the entire toolkit available for farmers. So biologics complement technologies like seeds, traits, chemistry and digital tools in order to bring new solutions to farmers globally around the world. And we are convinced that the markets will advance through partnerships and collaborations, combining specialist expertise with, for example, our capabilities to scale the impact from thousands of growers to millions of growers. In other words, I strongly believe biologicals are becoming essential, giving farmers the strong crop solution toolkit they need to meet rising consumer expectations and an increasingly stringent regulatory requirement. And last but not least, let me say, I would like to thank sincerely Colin, you, your team, the entire MustGrow team for your partnership. Thank you very much.
Well said, Ralf. Final word goes to you, Colin.
Yes. And first off, Ralf, thank you as well. And like I said, we're extremely happy and impressed with the team at Bayer and how things are moving forward. And I can echo everything Ralf said based on the opportunity with biologicals, based on everything and coming back to it more on a farm gate and looking at my own farm and what I've seen is not one product is going to be a silver bullet. TerraMG is a great product, but it's not going to work on its own. We need to be able to work in a true integrated pest management strategy with other chemistries, with seed, with the fertilizers, with everything to bring that right solution to farmer. And I think that's the key thing is looking at biologicals, looking at the opportunity, looking at how you can take what nature has given us to really complement what's out there right now. I do think we will get there more on a one penetration side, on use side with growers, but also looking at how do we integrate this biological TerraMG plus other biologicals that can have a great effect. And I want to say this again, Bayer brings that entire system. If you look at their knowledge, if you look at the opportunity, the understanding, the science-driven background, I can't thank them enough for that, how we're moving forward in the European Union and Africa, Middle East. We wouldn't have got there without Bayer as MustGrow.
Gentlemen, thank you for the time today and the great conversation. It's Colin Bletsky from MustGrow Biologics and Ralf Glaubitz from Bayer AG or he's saying where he is Bayer AG, just so there's no confusion. Thank you both, and congratulations on the success, and we wish you the best moving forward.
Thanks, Jim.
Thanks, Jim.
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