PEDRO PEREZ MARTINEZ SL

Their core work

Pedro Perez Martinez SL is a Spanish food-technology SME based in Valencia that specializes in the processing and commercialization of carob (algarroba) as a functional food ingredient. Their core innovation is a micronized, dehydrated carob product designed to replace cocoa or serve as a high-fiber, low-sugar ingredient in food manufacturing. They successfully navigated the full EU SME Instrument pipeline — from feasibility study (Phase 1) to full market deployment (Phase 2) — demonstrating both product readiness and commercial ambition. Their work sits at the intersection of agricultural processing, food ingredient innovation, and market scale-up.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Both H2020 projects cover the same topic — micronized dehydrated carob — so there is no shift in technical focus across the funding period. What does evolve is the maturity stage: the 2017 Phase 1 project (€50k) was a feasibility and business case exercise, while the 2018 Phase 2 project (€806k) moved into full product development and market deployment. This SME Instrument arc suggests the organization spent 2017–2020 in a focused, single-product commercialization push rather than broadening its research portfolio.

This company followed a deliberate Phase 1 → Phase 2 SME Instrument path on a single product; future collaborations are most likely in food ingredient supply chains, functional food formulation, or Mediterranean crop valorization rather than broader R&D diversification.

How they like to work

Pedro Perez Martinez SL has acted exclusively as project coordinator in both of its EU projects, and both were solo SME Instrument submissions with no registered consortium partners. This means they are comfortable leading and owning an innovation project, but have operated independently rather than inside multi-partner consortia. A potential partner should expect a company that knows its product well and drives its own agenda, but may have limited experience navigating large collaborative research networks.

Available data shows zero registered consortium partners and zero cross-country collaborations within H2020 — consistent with the solo SME Instrument model where a single company drives the project. Their effective network at the EU level appears limited to subcontractors and service providers rather than research or industry partners.

What sets them apart

This company occupies a narrow but defensible niche: it is one of very few EU-funded SMEs focused specifically on micronized carob as a commercial food ingredient, a market segment that benefits from growing demand for cocoa alternatives and high-fiber natural additives. Their Valencia/Bugarra location places them in a traditional carob-growing region of Spain, giving them proximity to raw material supply chains that larger or more geographically distant companies lack. For food manufacturers, ingredient developers, or retailers seeking a validated, EU-funded carob ingredient supplier, this SME has both the product and the funding track record to be a credible partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• DEMICROCAROB
  The Phase 2 award of €806,377 is the larger of the two projects and represents a full market deployment commitment — one of the most substantial SME Instrument Phase 2 grants available to a single-company applicant, confirming EU evaluators judged the product commercially viable.
• DEMICROCAROB
  The Phase 1 feasibility project (€50,000, 2017) set the foundation for the larger Phase 2 award, demonstrating a textbook SME Instrument progression from concept validation to scale-up — a pathway very few SMEs complete successfully.