Granarolo acquires a majority stake in White & Seeds

Italian dairy manufacturer Granarolo has acquired a 51% stake in White & Seeds with the possibility of buying the remaining shares in the next few years. White & Seed sells dairy and snack products such as yogurt, bars, muesli, porridge and spreads. Granarolo has been focusing its attention on products that promote well-being and sustainability. White & Seeds founders are sports lovers and expert nutritionists who cater to an audience attentive to wellness but lacking in time and looking for natural ingredients and flavors.

Seed investment plants Heywell as the fastest-growing sparkling adaptogenic water brand

Female-founded Heywell received a seed investment from Masterfund, a venture capital investment firm based in Seattle, WA, that invests in women-led, revenue-positive startups. Spins data reports that the $5.2 billion natural energy and other functional beverages market is growing at 24.6%, powered by Gen Z and Millennial consumers’ quest for cleaner plant-based products. Heywell was an Expo West 2022 NEXTY Awards finalist.

Slutty Vegan to open 20 new locations with a $25M investment

Atlanta-based Slutty Vegan currently has five locations and will expand to another 20 fast-food chain locations thanks to a $25 million Series A funding round. The expertise of investors from New Voices Fund and Danny Meyer will help build a vegan comfort food empire. Locations are planned for Brooklyn and Baltimore. The funding will also be used to hire chief operations and marketing officers. The black female-founded startup has seen rapid growth and is also currently selling dips distributed in Atlanta grocery chains. It is important to Pinky Cole, Slutty Vegan’s founder, to promote BIPOC community health and food equity.

Investors have an appetite for mycelium

Mycelium continues to trend this year as more startups aim to bring the plant-based meat alternative to the shelf. The latest startup to receive funding is Bosque Foods, with a $3 million seed round. A challenge with mycelium that has given some investors pause is the difficulty with scaling production. What is different with Berlin-based Bosque foods is that they grow big slabs of mycelium in a bioreactor used for solid-state fermentation instead of fermentation in a liquid cell culture bioreactor tube. These slabs can be cut into something that closely resembles a pork or chicken cutlet. Producing alt-meat that resembles real cuts of meat and not ground meat is usually one of the biggest challenges when it comes to alt-meats texture.

Plant-based cheese startup sets its sights on new European markets

Dutch-based startup Willicroft has secured a €2 million seed investment led by Paulig’s venture arm PINC and Rockstart. The investment will bring Willicroft’s range of plant-based cheeses to the U.K., Germany and Nordic Markets. It will also help the brand bring on senior talent, fast-track its product evolution and continue to become the world’s first net-positive plant-based cheese company. Rockstart said of the brand, “Willicroft is taking plant-based dairy alternatives to the next level. Alongside making delicious products, they are helping farmers to transition to sustainable production by enabling a local supply chain without the need for monocropping or highly processed ingredients. They have spent the last years understanding their consumers and their footprint, and the next phase will be to put those learnings to scale.”

How do you like your eggs? Yo! Egg is helping restaurant patrons answer plant-based

Yo! Egg has announced that it plans to launch in U.S. restaurants this year with its plant-based sunny side up and poached eggs. Yo! Egg hopes to tackle the unsustainable amount of water required for producing eggs and the risk of diseases transferred from the animals to humans. The plant-based egg market is expected to grow steadily over the coming years to reach up to $800 million in value by 2027. Many other plant-based egg companies start by creating a liquid or powdered egg, but Yo! Egg is taking on producing the whole egg. The brand’s sunny side up egg and poached eggs have already been successful at restaurants in Israel. The brand is also working on hard-boiled, scrambled and baking varieties.

HUNGRY, the tech catering platforming, is adding NatureBox to its plate

HUNGRY is a technology platform that caters to and delivers different snack varieties. The platform is backed by Jay-Z’s Marcy Partners and has gained momentum as people return to the office. HUNGRY’S acquisition of NatureBox will allow it to add more snack varieties to its platform and revenue. CEO Jeff Gras said, “NatureBox had previously raised roughly $60 million in venture capital funding. We project that NatureBox will add at least 20% to HUNGRY’s overall revenue in 2022, and we expect our business to double in sales in 2023.”

Nestlé to expand its health portfolio in Brazil with the acquisition of Puravida

Nestlé Health Science reached an agreement to acquire Puravida, a Brazilian nutrition and health lifestyle brand. Puravida produces nutritional supplements, protein powders and ready to drink beverages under the belief that vitamins and minerals play a vital role in our health and wellness. This acquisition will expand Nestlé’s consumer health portfolio in Brazil. Nestlé Health Science Latam said of the acquisition that “Bringing together Puravida and Nestlé Health Science’s deep expertise in nutrition research and development will result in further innovation, expanding the breadth and depth of the portfolio in the consumer and healthcare professional channels. Our retail presence will open new opportunities for Puravida’s growth and our strong network with healthcare professionals will expand the brand’s presence.”

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Sweet deals: Ferrero acquires Fulfil Nutrition

The international confectionery group Ferrero, of the Italian chocolate fame, has acquired the Irish vitamin and protein bar group Fulfill Nutrition via an all-cash transaction. Ferrero will take over the business outside of North America, where Hershey, who bought a minority stake in 2019, and Barry Connolly, Fulfil’s founder, will remain in control. Connolly is still the majority owner of the business, and the sale is estimated at 150 million euros.

 
Food-tech is here to create allergy free alternatives to your favorite pantry items

Voyage Foods raised $36 million in Series A financing, bringing its total funding to $41.7 million. Voyage Foods aims to reinvent pantry staples using sustainably and ethically sourced ingredients. Its products, including coffee without coffee beans, chocolate sans cacao and a peanut-free spread, are molecularly similar to the traditional pantry staples. These, though, are free from the top nine major allergens. Funding was co-led by UBS O’Connor and Level One Fund, with participation from Horizons Ventures, SOSV’s Indie Bio and Social Impact Capital.

Serena Williams helps more women score points by investing in WILE

WILE is a vegan menopause supplement brand created by women to help empower them and reduce the stigma around this natural hormonal process. WILE currently produces various plant powder supplements, tinctures and functional beverages that offer support women for in their 40s-60s having symptoms of hot flashes, stress and mood swings, as well as supporting overall wellness. Williams invested an undisclosed amount during the $3 million seed round.

 
Down to Cook Inc.’s Adda Veggie begins to add a lot of capital

As part of a $1.5 million seed round, Down to Cook received a $300,000 investment from the ICA Growth Fund. ICA assists women and BIPOC entrepreneurs via mentorship and capital in the Bay Area. With its Adda Veggie line of meal starter kits, the startup also raised more than $60,000 in an equity crowdfunding campaign.

Beyonce continues to make lemonade out of lemons

Two years ago, Beyonce posted a shot of her getting into a limo with a bottle of Lemon Perfect—an enhanced water drink—in the cupholder. Fans spotted the beverage, one of Beyonce’s favorites, and the image went viral. Beyonce is now a backer saying, “I don’t typically enjoy drinks without added sugar, but Lemon Perfect is delicious. It was an easy decision to invest in something that not only tastes great and is healthy, but also, and most importantly, allows choosing a healthier lifestyle to be affordable and accessible to everyone.” The $31 million Series A funding also saw support from Beechwood Capital, Goat Rodeo Capital, Melitas Ventures, NNS Capital and Trousdale Ventures.

Leonardo DiCaprio joins Lewis Hamilton’s The NEAT Food Co as a strategic investor

DiCaprio has long been an environmental activist advocating for sustainable alternatives. NEAT is a vegan fast-food chain from the UK that focuses on alternative proteins as a means of reducing global emissions. NEAT will soon be opening more locations globally in addition to bringing its products to retailers in the U.S. NEAT’s most recent valuation is $100 million. It is starting a $30 million Series B funding round to help improve on versions of its products, introduce new ones and continue its global expansion.

Canada’s leading roasted bean snack receives a $6.2M investment

Three Farmers Foods Inc. received $3 million from District Ventures Capital and $3.2 million from existing investors to help grow its distribution across Canada and penetrate the U.S. market. Grown and manufactured in Canada using sustainable practices, Three Farmers Food believes in food production transparency and giving everyone equitable access to healthy food.

From farm to food service: Tractor Beverage Co. plans $60M funding round

Tractor Beverage Co. claims to be one of North America’s fasting growing beverage brands, thanks to its Certified Organic full line beverage service solution for foodservice operators. Tractor has entered into a long-term, exclusive sales partnership with Keurig Dr Pepper. Keurig Dr Pepper will be a lead investor in this funding round and will support expanding infrastructure and marketing. Tractor gears its marketing towards younger and more health-conscious consumers.

 

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Food is medicine for startup Season Health

Season Health is working with health systems to make accessible condition-specific foods that help patients improve. It has raised $34 million in a Series A round of funding led by Andreesen Horowitz . Season Health currently designs specialized meal plans for diabetes and chronic kidney disease patients and facilitates delivery. The company is working with investors to have their services covered by health insurance providers.

 

Gauge Capital is bringing hair care from the Land Down Under to North America

BondiBoost , the Australian haircare brand, has been acquired by Dallas-based private equity firm Gauge Capitol. Operations will remain in Australia, where the brand creates solutions to help solve people’s hair and scalp issues. The brand has seen great success already in the U.K., U.S. (sold at Ulta Beauty and Target) and online. Gauge Capital will support the Australian team as it expands into more global markets, especially as the hair care market is expected to grow and match the size of the makeup market by 2024.

 

Latin America food tech startup gains record funding

Brazilian startup Diferente is ensuring that different ” ugly” foods are not being discarded but instead rescued and brought straight to consumers at a lower price point. Diferente announced a record-setting seed round funding for early food tech startups in Latin America of BRL 24 million. Maya Capital led the funding round, which also saw investments from the likes of Misfits Market founder and CEO , whose brand rescues ” ugly ” produce in North America.

 

The lab is your oyster! Cult Food Science invests in Pearlita

Innovative food science sees whole new worlds of possibility and Cult Food Science is adding to its portfolio Pearlita , a cell-based mollusk company. Cellular agriculture and the incorporation of cultivated cell-based foods into the global food supply chain decrease our reliance on live animals as a source of food. Pearlita’s cultivated oysters from stem cells and bioreactors provide seafood lovers with healthy, nutritious, and richly flavorful oysters.

 

The Honest Kitchen secures $150M in funding to expand on its human-grade pet food

The Honest Kitchen cares about your pet’s health and wants to make sure man’s best friend is getting the same quality ingredients as are found in human food. The Honest Kitchen will use part of the funding towards environmental, social and governance initiatives. The investment will also help expand on innovating new dog and cat food products, manufacturing and marketing.

 

Athletes get a head start investing in Mikuna Protein Powder

Protein powder brand Mikuna Foods raised $5.6 million in seed funding . Among the backers of the seed round were a number of athletes, including professional snowboarder Sage Kotsenburg , professional skateboarder Leticia Bufoni and professional surfer Mick Fanning. Mikuna’splant- based protein comes from chocho , a lupin species native to the Andes Mountains. The new funding will be used to expand manufacturing and explore new products.

 

Series A funding goes swimmingly for lab-grown shrimp producer CellMEAT

CellMeat, a South Korean startup , has secured $8.1 million in Series A funding. Alternative seafood investments saw 92% growth last year, totaling $175 million globally. CellMEAT will use this new round of funding to continue cell-based lab-grown shrimp research and development. CellMEAT will also increase production and begin to cultivate other crustacean seafood such as lobsters and crabs. The aim is for the cultivated shrimps to be commercialized by 2023 for B2B and B2C in Asian countries and , subsequently, the U.S.

 

Move over Styrofoam, TemperPack receives $140M in financing

TemperPack Technology manufactures Cli maCell thermal liners , a nontoxic and recyclable alternative to Styrofoam and expanded polystyrene. These sustainable thermal shipping liners used to ship food, pharmaceutical and other products help reduce waste and carbon emissions. The new equity financing was led by Goldman Sachs and will allow TemperPack to expand manufacturing and become known to more customers.

 

Investments grow upward for Vertical Harvest in Series A funding

Vertical Harvest secured $8.35 million in its Series A funding round led by Nicoya and Raiven Capital. The vertical farming company also saw investments from Mike Krupka, a partner at BainCapital Ventures , and Oatly co-founder Björn Öste . Vertical Harvest produces packaged salads of microgreens, lettuces, tomatoes and edible flowers. The goal of Vertical Harvest is to create a network of local , sustainable farms in urban environments while having an inclusive employment scheme.

 

Investors flocked to plant-based meats in April

Food tech companies inventing meat alternatives seem to be all the rage these days for both startups and venture capital. This makes sense given consumers growing interest in caring for the environment and nutrition. Planetary tapped into an $8 million cash infusion to construct an industrial-scale production facility. This facility will allow its customers to use fermentation technology to speed up the process of creating and scaling alternative proteins. Nowadays, a health-focused scalable plant-based chicken nugget company, closed a $7 million seed round. UPSIDE Foods , an “any species ” cultivated meat company, closed a $400 million Series C funding round. As more food tech companies ar e finishing the development stages , they are beginning to prepare for growth. Realistic plant-based chicken breast makers Umiami use proprietary techniques , and Hafood Scops creates their plant-based chicken from peanuts. The two French and Chinese startups have raised $30 million and $3.5 million, respectively.

 

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MelBio is bringing a brand new buzz to the $10B global honey market

What happens when you take the bee out of the honey-making process? You save the bees. Bee-free honey aims to bring sustainability to an agriculture sector that has been prone to quality and supply issues. Keeping honeybees in hives has a devastating impact on local and wild bee populations. From the minds of a scientist, amateur chef, and former bee-honey industry executive, co-founders Darko Mandich and Aaron Schaller are using precision fermentation and plant science to make honey without bees. In doing so, they help preserve bee biodiversity. With $5.7 million in seed funding, led by Astanor Ventures, and 30 signed letters of intent from companies to do validation studies, MelBio’s product launches in April.

Investing in the next generation: The two companies raising funds for innovative infant formula

Investors are taking note of the importance of early childhood nutrition to lay the foundation for a healthy life. ByHeart recently raised $190 million in funding and Bobbie has secured $50 million in new financing. Both companies are looking to disrupt the US infant formula market by formulating new solutions for babies to come. The two use organic, grass-fed milk and aim to use only clean ingredients that closely resemble the nutritional composition of breast milk. Seeing the pressure new parents face with regard to breastfeeding, Bobbie will use its new funding to support its subscription-based service. This guarantees that parents will have monthly deliveries of formula in a $67.3 billion and growing industry that has been unable to meet demand and often falls victim to supply-chain issues. ByHeart will continue to use its funding to create innovative formulas using its patented protein blend and FDA-registered manufacturing.

Food tech company Mori raises $50M in Series B1 funding round

Mori’s technology, focused on creating more sustainable food supply chains, extends shelf life to reduce waste. Using a proprietary process of just salt, water and heat, natural silk proteins are extracted, protecting food and slowing spoilage. In a fragile food system—as proven by the labor shortages and shipping delays of the past two years—reduced food and packaging waste will lead to a lower carbon footprint and lesser impact on natural resources.

Seaweed sizzles with a $3M investment launch

Plant-based bacon takes to the sea at Umaro Foods Inc. The food technology at Umaro focuses on using a proprietary red protein from seaweed for its plant-based bacon that is rich in umami and closely resembles the real thing. Ocean-farmed seaweed is a sustainable source of high-quality and abundant protein. With the closing of a $3 million seed fundraise Umaro Foods will launch its plant-based bacon at select restaurants in Q2 of 2022. Co-founders Beth Zotter and Amanda Stiles will also appear on ABC’s Shark Tank on April 1, 2022.

Molecular dairy farming startup Miruku secures $2.4M in seed funding round

Venture capital fund Movac led funding for the New Zealand-based startup, with participation from Better Bite Ventures, Ahimsa Foundation, and NZ Growth Capital Partners’ Aspire fund. Miruku’s founders Amos Palfreyman, Ira Bing, Harjinder Singh, and Oded Shoseyov use their combined expertise in the dairy and science fields to create an animal-free dairy protein. The molecular farming process uses plants to manufacture proteins, fats, and sugars traditionally sourced from animals. Cutting out the need for animals to produce proteins allows the plants to create the same proteins directly while improving the food system’s energy and production efficiency.

Personalized supplements from doctors straight to your door

OK Capsule, founded by CA-based Dr. Andrew Brandies, has raised $9.5 million in early funding. Dr. Brandies is an ND and personalization expert with 20+ years of experience in primary medical care and health technology startups. Using technology that allows for integration into multiple platforms such as API, Zapier and Shopify OK Capsule provides a safe, sustainable and supported way for companies to launch an any-size scale of personalized supplement packets to their consumers.

Investments are brewing: $5M funding round for Wandering Bear

Organic coffee company Wandering Bear has raised $5 million backed by existing investors. Wandering Bear Cold Brew Coffee On Tap was the first to package cold brew as a bag in a tapped box that, much like boxed wine, allows the coffee to stay fresh much longer after opening. They aim to keep their cold brew convenient and readily accessible for customers while being sustainable.

Local Bounti is taking more inside with $122.5M acquisition of indoor farming operator Pete’s

Expecting to close the transaction early in the second quarter indoor farming company is acquiring indoor farming competitor Hollandia Produce Group. A part of Hollandia Produce Group’s leafy greens sellers, Pete’s has three indoor growing facilities and distributes to 10,000 retailers including Kroger, Target, and Walmart. All of Pete’s 130 employees will join Local Bounti as it plans to install its Stack & Flow vertical farming technology. This is Local Bounti’s first acquisiton since the startup went public.

Disclaimer: NCN does not warrant the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any NCN news item. Before relying on any NCN News item the information should be independently verified.

Got Chickpea milk? Global Food and Ingredients snags YoFiit

Touted for its high protein and omega-3 content, chickpea milk may be the latest alternative dairy product to get investors’ attention. Global Food and Ingredients (GFI) has acquired YoFiit, a Canadian snack, granola, and chickpea milk brand operated by Your Fitness Dish Inc. One of very few chickpea milk companies, YoFiit is conducting extensive R&D to expand its range with plant-based yogurts, egg replacements, and more milk alternatives.

Splendid Spoon secures $12M in Series B funding

Thanks to its unique take on the meal delivery service trend, investors are digging Splendid Spoon’s plant-based model. The company delivers to every state in the continental U.S. and offers more than has 50 plant-based items. One differentiator for the company is that customers can shop on-demand without signing up for a subscription. Splendid Spoon doubled its growth rate since 2020, has over 20,000 subscribers and recently secured $12 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Nicoya with participation from Danone Manifesto Ventures, Torch Capital, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, Rent the Runway co-founder Jennifer Fleiss and Ashok and Meera Vasudevan, founders of Tasty Bite.

Good Culture grows, secures $64M in Series C

(Irvine, Calif.) Good Culture, the clean-label cultured foods brand focused on cottage cheese, announced the completion of $64 million in Series C funding led by Manna Treet with participation from SEMCAP Food & Nutrition and celebrity investor Kristen Bell. The company has experienced 79% Compound Annual Growth Rate over the last five years, while increasing its distribution footprint to over 10,000 stores and is focused on securing funding from sources aligned with its mission to create foods that are healing for people and the planet.

Olipop quenches investors’ thirst for innovative functional beverages

Functional beverage brand Olipop, which makes flavored functional sodas with digestive health benefits, completed a $30M Series B funding round, led by Monogram Capital Partners. Other investors included former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi and her husband Raj, Anjula Acharia, Rocana Venture Partners, and celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Joe Jonas and Mindy Kaling. “Our goal has always been to offer a product that can truly occupy the space that traditional soda has filled while also contributing to consumers’ overall wellbeing,” said Ben Goodwin, co-founder, CEO and formulator at Olipop.

Over the moon: Moon Juice Raises $7M Series C

A company representing the intersection of beauty and wellness has secured additional funding for its line of wellness supplements and topical beauty products. The brand, which launched in 2011, recently raised a $7M Series C led by emerging growth fund True Beauty Ventures. Prior to this, Moon Juice didn’t take on any outside capital since 2017 and has revenues reported in excess of $20M.

Purely Elizabeth closes $50M Series B

Purely Elizabeth, which has a product line of nutrient-dense breakfast foods, has closed a $50M Series B financing round, which was backed by the newly launched food and nutrition division of Seminal Capital (SEMCAP). The company’s portfolio includes pancake and waffle mix, granola and oatmeal, and the company says that it plans to introduce new products as well as launch into a new category. Purely Elizabeth will use the new funds to invest in marketing and product innovation, and to support its growth in the ecommerce channel.“Since 2016, SEMCAP’s John Haugen and Ryan Newcom have served on my board and played an instrumental role in helping scale the business,” said Elizabeth Stein, Purely Elizabeth founder and CEO.

A sea of opportunities for plant-based seafood company Mind Blown

Adding to the list of natural products brands receiving investment and endorsement from celebrity chefs, The Plant-Based Seafood Co., producers of award-winning Mind Blown seafood products, announces an investment of an undisclosed amount from celebrated chef Spike Mendelsohn. The Plant-Based Seafood Co. is a female-founded company whose best-selling Mind Blown line includes plant-based shrimp, scallops, oyster, lobster and crab cakes. The owners previously operated a traditional seafood company, and say their industry experience helps them create plant-based seafood with realistic tastes and textures.

Everything Legendary closes $6M Series A

The future is looking bright for the Maryland-based, black-owned alternative meat company that has closed a $6 million Series A funding round led by CircleUp Growth Partners with additional investments from General Mills’ 301 INC and “Shark Tank” star Mark Cuban. In less than a year since launching, it gained national distribution in 1,500 grocery stores, including Safeway and Target, and will be available in 5,600 grocery stores soon. “What has our investors excited about us is they can see that we aren’t just another plant-based product … we are looking to disrupt the multi-billion-dollar industry with unprecedented flavor, premium ingredients and high-energy marketing that sets our brand apart,” said Duane “Myko” Cheers, co-founder of Everything Legendary.

Plastic-free delivery service Zero Grocery on the way … to success

Zero Grocery’s model that strives to provide both the convenience and speed consumers are used to from their delivery services, as well as meet consumer demand for more sustainable options, is garnering investor attention. Zero Grocery is a plastic-free grocery, home and personal care delivery startup founded in 2019 by CEO Zuleyka Strasner, who started the company in 2019. Three years ago, it had raised just $4.7M in funding. Today, the company announced another $11.8 million in new seed funding, led by Sway Ventures, to give Zero $16.5M in funding to date.

 

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Remilk raises $120M in a Series B round with precision fermentation that hits the mark

Holy cow! Remilk, an Israeli company that makes animal-free dairy proteins through precision fermentation, raised $120 million in a Series B round, increasing its financials 10-fold. The company will use this funding to scale commercial use of the ingredients in products including ice cream, cheese and yogurt and represents a growing body of companies focused on using unique processing and technologies to replicate animal-proteins sans animal.

 

Yolélé secures $1.98M in new funding for ancient grains

Investors are taking notice of Yolélé, a chef-driven brand bringing the West African ancient grain fonio to U.S. consumers. The company is part of an agro-processing operation called WAAG, which will build a supply chain connecting smallholder farmers with local and global markets for biodiverse, climate-resilient crops. A grant of $1.98 million for WAAG will support U.S. market development and promotion, supply chain development and the establishment of a new Mali-based processing center.

 

Investment heats up for cold-brew coffee startup Brewbike

Add a splash of college-minded entrepreneurship to your cuppa joe and you have a rich idea, according to investors. Evanston, Illinois-based Brewbike, which currently operates student-run coffee businesses on four U.S. college campuses, raised more than $3 million in its latest round of bridge funding to expand operations. “With this new funding, we’ve launched our direct-to-consumer product, built a new brand and website, are expanding from four to 11 campuses with more on the way. We are excited for the reach and impact this funding will allow us to have and are excited to partner with everyone who participated,” said Sierra Bloodgood, CEO of Brewbike. Investors include CEAS Investments, Connetic Ventures, Koto, Techra Investments, Mats Lederhausen’s Be-Cause Ventures, Westbrook Inc., Joe Mansueto and Venetia Kontogouris.

 

Wellness Innovations BV’s fish-free positioning hooks investors, reels in €1.2M

(Almere, Netherlands) Wellness Innovations BV, whose consumer brands are Testa Omega-3 and Daily Supplements, announced a successful crowdfunding round, raising €1.2 million. Both Testa Omega-3 and Daily Supplements share a mission of eliminating all unnecessary fishing by 2035 and contain entirely plant-based portfolios. “We are already well on our way in this mission,” co-owner Martin de Vries said in a statement. But with the share of algal oil in the total omega-3 market only at around 5% “we still have a long way to go to realize our goal. Growth is therefore necessary and we are taking steps to the other continents. In addition, we are broadening our portfolio.”

 

Aw, smucks! JM Smucker sells off natural beverage and grains brands to Nexus Capital Management for $110M

Orrville, Ohio-based JM Smucker has agreed to sell its natural and organic beverage and grains businesses, including RW Knudsen and TruRoots brands, to Nexus Capital Management for $110 million. “This transaction supports our strategy to direct investments and resources toward core brands positioned for growth. By focusing resources on our core brands, including Uncrustables sandwiches, Jif and Smuckers, we are positioning ourselves to build on our market leadership while continuing to support the growth of the overall category,” said Tina Floyd, vice president and general manager of consumer foods at JM Smucker.

 

Wellbeam Consumer Health LLC bets on anti-aging’s longevity

(San Francisco) Wellbeam Consumer Health LLC recently announced the acquisition of BioTRUST Nutrition LLC., an eCommerce healthy living and nutrition brand, including protein, collagen, healthy living, anti-aging and digestive health products. “With the addition of BioTRUST to the portfolio, Wellbeam Consumer Health not only adds a fast-growing, differentiated brand and leader in the healthy aging space, but also offers a best-in-class data-driven DTC eCommerce competency on top of current deep expertise in eCommerce marketplace and brand management,” said Chris Marschall, CEO of Wellbeam Consumer Health. “The addition of BioTRUST is another significant step to building the leading eCommerce-focused consumer wellness company with a mission to help consumers live healthier lives.”

 

MycoWorks proves funghi fashion is in style, raises $125M in Series C financing

(Emeryville, California) First powder, then jerky, now textiles? That’s what MycoWorks believes is next for mushrooms, as it looks to replace leather with a fungal-based biomaterial. The company recently brought in $125 million in Series C financing, which it will use to fund a production plant for scaling the manufacture of its flagship product Reishi. “A lot is happening in this space,” said CEO Matt Scullin. “Mycelium is a tunable material, and a lot of folks are entering the space because they see opportunity for it.” MycoWorks aims to focus on high-quality, scalable practices with its latest round of funding.

 

Coffee talk: Dutch startup PectCof raises €2M

With a focus on transforming coffee pulp biomass into valuable bio compounds, Dutch startup PectCof has already proven the concept effective with its Dutch Gum, which has been successfully tested as an emulsifier, stabilizer and texturizer in candies, sauces and soft drinks. “We cut CO2 emissions and pollution by recognizing coffee pulp as a valuable resource while we also create an additional revenue stream for coffee farmers,” said Founder Rudi Dieleman.

 

Investors dance with Foxtrot’s reimagined convenience store concept

Consumers and investors are eating up this fresh, innovative take on the classic convenience store; since 2020, Chicago-based Foxtrot has added 16 retail locations across Dallas, Chicago and Washington D.C. and is now offering curated artisan products in addition to its core offerings of coffee, ready-to-eat cafe meals and wine. Its latest Series C round of $160 million was led by led D1 Capital Partners, which was joined by existing investors Monogram Capital, Imaginary, Almanac, Wittington, Fifth Wall, Beliade, Lerer Hippeau and Revolution.

 

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Perfeggt plant-based egg company cracks open $2.8M in new investment

Berlin-based Perfeggt, which is part of Lovely Day GmbH, is getting in on the food tech boom, raising nearly $3 million in its first funding round that will support its launch and set the company up for further European expansion in 2022. Early investors who are hoping they’ve cracked into a big opportunity with the young brand include EVIG Group, Stray Dog Capital, E2JDJ, Tet Ventures, Good Seed Ventures, Sustainable Food Ventures and Shio Capital. The team at Perfeggt believes the plant-based egg market is still largely untapped and is ready for its next move.

Begging for pet food innovation, investors sink teeth into Maev

Maev (Austin, Texas) secured $9 million for its human-grade, direct-to-consumer raw dog food in a round of funding led by Springdale Ventures. Prior to this round, Maev raised rounds backed by VMG Partners, Bolt and Willow Growth. The women-owned company hopes to capitalize on the continued growth of high-integrity dog food, taking its line a step further with a frozen, raw concept. Founders Katie Spies and Christine Busaba strive to redefine innovation in the category.

More than a grain of financial opportunity for Riceworks

Chicago-based gluten-free company Riceworks received a seven-figure investment from Decathlon Capital Partners, proving that simple GF snacks are here to stay. This is an important step in the company’s plan to expand U.S. and Canadian distribution. “With a skilled, well-respected leadership team, ownership of two process patents in North America, Europe and Asia, and a pipeline of delicious new products, Riceworks has created a strong platform for continued growth as a significant player in the expanding natural healthy snack segment,” said Kevin Grossman, vice president of Decathlon Capital Partners.

ADM’s plant-based protein portfolio looking strong

The Chicago-based nutrition ingredient company completed its acquisition of Sojaprotein, a leading European provider of non-GMO soy ingredients. This move reinforces ADM’s commitment to delivering plant-based food and beverage solutions. The company believes joining with Sojaprotein will allow it to best serve consumers seeking local, non-GMO plant-based proteins. This is one of many additions the company has made globally, including its protein complex in Campo Garande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil; its new pea protein plant in Enderlin, North Dakota; its PlantPlus Foods joint venture; and partnerships with innovative startups like Air Protein.

Back to the Roots gets $15M in backing

Organic gardening company Back to the Roots (Oakland, California) raised $15 million in Series D funding from S2G Ventures, Loft Growth Partners, Fenwick Brands, and Echo Capital to add to funding from current investors including Ayesha Curry, Carmelo Anthony, Toms Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie, and Tony Robbins and Peter Guber (via their fund AoT). The Millennial-owned and run company plans to use the new investment to continue innovating and position itself as the go-to gardening company connecting future generations with their food.

NadaMoo secures $10M for new product development

The Austin-based, ethically sourced vegan ice cream company raised $10 million in a Series B funding round and plans to expand its product offerings. The company used its 2017 $4 million series A funding to expand distribution. The latest investment came from local investor Killam Investments, which said that it believes in NadaMood’s vision for a sustainable, plant-based food future packaged in delicious frozen treats. The company’s commitment to other sustainable practices, including plant-based packaging, also sweetened the deal.

Investors wake up to RTD Indian coffee brand Sleepy Owl

With the ready-to-drink coffee category anything but sleepy, investors recently turned their attention to New Delhi-based Sleepy Owl, which offers cold brew packs, hot brew bags, ready-to-drink cold brew beverages, ground coffee and a brew box. The company plans to use the $6.5 million in Series A funding to grow its team and its distribution across India, where it is currently available in 1,700 outlets.

Boosted Commerce Acquires nutritional supplement company WellPath

E-commerce platform Boosted Commerce (New York) acquired WellPath after the supplement company’s sales grew 139% from 2019-2020. Boosted plans to capitalize on the booming supplement space by supporting WellPath’s new product development and offline marketing, helping the company reach a range of consumers across generations and demographics. “Our vision has always been to create a brand that demystifies the opaque world of nutritional supplements with educational, empowering, and engaging content and products,” said Colin Darretta, co-founder of WellPath. “The Boosted team understands the supplement market and the nuanced challenges it presents as well as anyone we spoke with and was clearly best positioned to enable us to deliver on our mission,” he said.

Food-saving company Spoiler Alert is ripe for investment, raises $11M

Part of the growing movement to save food, Spoiler Alert is a CPG industry platform leveraged by CPG powerhouses including Nestlé, Kraft Heinz, Campbell Soup Company and Danone North America. The company just raised $11 million to start scaling its operations and mission to keep food out of landfills. Brands find it appealing not just for the mission but also because it helps them become more efficient and therefore more successful. This investment is led by Collaborative Fund with participation from existing investors, including Acre Venture Partners, The Betsy & Jesse Fink Family Foundation, Maersk Growth, Spring Point Partners and Valley Oak Investments.

Anything seems possible for Impossible Foods as it closes $500M in funding

Food tech behemoth Impossible Foods (Redwood City, California) secured around $500 million in new funding led by existing investor Mirae Asset Global Investments with participation from other existing Impossible Foods investors. The fastest growing plant-based meat company in retail has raised nearly $2B in total since its founding a decade ago. Prior to this latest investment, rounds included a $500 million round in March 2020, which as was also led by Mirae Asset Global Investments, followed by an additional $200 million round in August 2020 led by Coatue.

Disclaimer: NCN does not warrant the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any NCN news item. Before relying on any NCN News item the information should be independently verified.

Carbon-neutral brand Neutral Foods gets $4M in seed funding

Neutral Foods (Portland, Oregon), which works with diary farmers to implement strategies to drive down carbon emissions from the production of its organic milk, has raised $4 million in seed funding. The financing round was led by sustainable investment company Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Mark Cuban Companies and brings the company’s total funding to $4.8 million. Neutral Foods plans to expand the company nationally and distribute its Neutral milk across 500 Whole Foods stores in the U.S., as well as to drive sustainability awareness and trial of the brand.

 

Amara Organic Foods gets majority stake from Eat Well Group

Eat Well Investment Group (Vancouver, British Columbia), an investment company primarily focused on high-growth companies in the agribusiness, food tech, plant-based and ESG (environmental, social and governance) sectors, has made an equity investment in PataFoods, Inc. dba Amara Organic Foods (San Francisco, California). Amara is a fast-growing baby food brand. Eat Well acquired an additional 29% of the shares of Amara at a $100 million valuation for a total acquisition price of $29 million. “We are proud of what Jessica and her team at Amara have accomplished to date and anticipate this investment will provide a material impact to our growth in 2022 and beyond,” said Marc Aneed, President of Eat Well Group.

 

Utz Brands buys RW Garcia for $56M

Utz Brands (Hanover, Pennsylvania) has acquired organic snacks manufacturer RW Garcia for $56 million. RW Garcia makes tortilla chips, crackers and corn chips in Nevada and North Carolina, with significant production capacity to support the continued growth of Utz’s subsidiaries. Dylan Lissette, chief executive officer of Utz, said, “RW Garcia has a great track record of better-for-you innovation and production capabilities, and with the RW Garcia brand as part of our portfolio, Utz’ retail sales in the better-for-you segment will exceed $100 million on an annual basis following the closing.” The purchase follows that of Vitner’s snack brand in January for $25 million.

 

Frozen food maker Tattooed Chef buys private label bar manufacturer

Tattooed Chef (Paramount, California), which makes plant-based refrigerated and frozen foods, has acquired private label snack and nutrition bar manufacturer Belmont Confections for $18 million. The purchase will provide Tattooed Chef with a 47,000-square-foot bar manufacturing facility in Ohio. The purchase follows others in May of New Mexico Food Distributors, Inc. and Karsten Tortilla Factory for $35 million. Earlier this year, Tattooed Chef President and CEO Sam Galletti said, “We are comfortable producing food in any category.” The purchase of Belmont, which boasts a Non-GMO Project verification and gluten-free certification, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

 

Cocoa-free chocolate maker closes $6M seed round

QOA (Munich, Germany) has raised $6 million in seed funding for a pilot production facility to make cocoa-free chocolate. The round was led by Cherry Ventures and included participation from 50years, World Fund, Nucleus Capital, Trellis Road, Pioneer Fund and Tet Ventures. The company’s goal is to combat some of the sustainability and ethical issues surrounding mass-market chocolate by developing an approach to the confection that removes cocoa, its most controversial ingredient. A brother-sister duo founded the company this year that uses precision fermentation through which it recreates the composition of cocoa using other food byproducts.

 

Brazilian food tech startup Future Farm closes $58 million Series C funding round

Future Farm (Brazil) touts plant-based meat substitutes with a “true” meat-like texture. The company has had another big raise with a $58 million Series C round co-led by BTG, with additional investments by existing investors Monashees, Go4It Capital, Turim MFO and Enfini Ventures, along with new investors XP Inc. and Rage Capital (which co-led the round). The capital will be used to expand the company’s range of plant-based meat substitutes into retail in the U.S. and Europe. Plans for plant-based milks and a butter alternative are also in the pipeline for this company that launched in 2019. As of now, the futurist-themed meat products are available in 24 countries, including the UK market, where it has had significant growth.

 

Above Food buys plant-based pioneer Atlantic Natural Foods

Above Food (Regina, Saskatchewan), which bought three other brands this year, has entered into a binding agreement to purchase Atlantic Natural Foods (Nashville, North Carolina). The transaction is scheduled to close in the first quarter of 2022 and is valued at more than $30 million. Atlantic Natural Foods—which makes tuna replacement Tuno, plant proteins under the Loma Linda brand, egg and meat replacers Neat and caffeine-free coffee substitute Kaffree Roma—has seen rapid growth since 2018, a decade after its founding. Above Food was founded in 2019 with the goal of developing and distributing plant alternatives to animal-based food through a transparent supply chain. It’s done so by developing partnerships with key suppliers and ingredient companies in Canada.

 

Plant-based ingredient startup Shiru gets new capital infusion

Shiru (Oakland, California), which uses precision fermentation and boasts a catalog of six ingredients that are colorless and flavorless that can be added to a variety of food products as meat analogs, has raised $17 million in a Series A funding round led by S2G Ventures. One of the food targets that protein biochemist Dr. Jasmin Hume and her team are looking to replace is methyl cellulose, a starch that is used in foods like vegetable protein-based foods. The new funding brings Shiru’s total funding to date to just over $20 million. The company plans to have ingredients ready for customers by next year, with the first commercial products containing Shiru’s ingredients on shelves starting in 2023.

 

Daring Foods another $65M in Series C raise

Plant-based chicken producer Daring Foods (Los Angeles, California) raised $65 million in its Series C round and will expand into over 3,000 Walmart stores across the U.S., doubling its distribution to 6,000 doors nationwide. The latest raise, which was led by Founders Fund and joined by existing investor D1 Capital Group and notable new investors such as Naomi Osaka, Cameron Newton, renowned DJ Steve Aoki and Chase Coleman, brings Daring’s total raise to over $120 million. It’s one of just a few companies to raise Series A, B and C in a single year.

 

Functional beverage company The Plug Drink gets investment from rapper Jack Harlow

The Plug Drink (Los Angeles, California), a functional recovery beverage, has closed a $1.5 million seed round. Grammy-nominated rapper Jack Harlow is along the investors who participated in the funding round, along with NBA and NFL players and others. The company will use the funds to scale its growth in both direct-to-consumer and retail channels, as well as boosting marketing efforts and bringing on more team members for sales and social media. The product is currently sold in Southern California, including recent roadshows in Sam’s Club. The product makes claims of cleansing the liver of toxins and easing unwanted symptoms after a night out.

 

Seafood analog brand Aqua Culture Foods closes pre-seed round

Aqua Cultured Foods (Chicago, Illinois), maker of seafood analogs, has raised $2.1 million in pre-seed funding. Founded in 2020, the company uses a microbial fermentation process and its own proprietary strain of fungi, which makes the product’s nutritional profile more robust than many plant-based seafood counterparts. Investors in the round included Supply Change Capital, Big Idea Ventures, Aera VC, Sustainable Food Ventures, Hanfield Venture Partners, Lifely VC, Conscience VC, Kingfisher Capital, Hyde Park Angels and Swiss Pampa CEO Gonzalo Ramirez Martiarena.

 

Lucky Iron Fish nabs $1M in Series A funding

The Lucky Iron Fish (Toronto, Ontario) is a cooking tool that infuses meals with iron to help treat and prevent iron deficiency. Designed to be dropped in boiling water or liquid-based meals, the simple tools makes it easy to enrich meals with a boost of natural iron. The certified B Corporation behind the product, Lucky Iron Fish Enterprise (LIFe) has completed a $1 million Series A round led by Danone Communities, the impact investment fund and social business incubator for low-income populations. The capital will accelerate growth and achieve the company’s target of reaching 2.5 million people with low iron over the next five years.

 

Disclaimer: NCN does not warrant the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any NCN news item. Before relying on any NCN News item the information should be independently verified.

Abbot’s Butcher closes Series A funding

Abbot’s Butcher (Costa Mesa, California) has closed its Series A funding round, led by Melitas Ventures and will participation from celebrities Owen Wilson and Woody & Laura Harrelson. Existing investors Unovis and SOSV also joined the round for the plant-based protein company. The company, which was founded in 2017 by an animal-rights advocate, makes premium alternative meat products from pea protein, vegetables, herbs, spices, olive oil and vinegar. The capital will be used to fuel food service growth and expand retail distribution beyond its 800 stores, as well as new product development.

Cell-cultured milk company Biomilq nabs $21M in Series A round

Biotechnology company Biomilq (Durham, North Carolina) has raised $21 million in Series A funding to bring cell-cultured milk to market that mimics the nutritional value of human breast milk with a lower carbon footprint than traditional bovine-based infant formula. The round was led by global life science investor Novo Holdings, with participation from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Blue Horizon, Spero Ventures, Digitalis Ventures, Green Generation Fund and Gaingels. Kartik Dharmadhikari, Novo Holdings’ partner and Biomilq’s board director, said: “Our mission is to make a growing and positive impact on health, science and society. We are delighted to support Biomilq through its journey pioneering mammary biotechnology.”

Flash-frozen coffee company Cometeer raises $35M in Series B funding

Cometeer (Gloucester, Massachusetts), a coffee tech startup, has raised an additional $35 million in a Series B round, bringing the total raised to date to $100 million. The company brews coffee “through science” in a carefully calibrated process before sealing it in recyclable capsules, offering 10x strength brew that’s flash-frozen with liquid nitrogen to lock in the aroma. Consumers can use the capsules to make hot or iced coffee by melting them with water. The company says it will use the capital to increase manufacturing capacity at its facility, expand its roster of roasting partners and continue to invest in innovation.

Plant-based meal delivery service Allplants gets £38M in funding round

UK-based Allplants (London) raised £38 million in a Series B funding round, marking the largest ever Series B raised by a plant-based food company in Europe. The round was led by Draper Esprit and included companies such as Oatly, Deliveroo and Zoopla. The company will use the capital to expand its kitchen to six times its current size, which will enable it to meet demand from the UK direct-to-consumer market and build its capacity for larger distribution into other channels. Jonathan Petrides, founder and CEO of Allplants, said: “In the five years that we have been cooking, we’ve seen the demand for plant-based food explode. We’ve got a ton of exciting plans to bring the movement to even more people’s kitchens, and this investment will allow us to do just that.”

Amazon’s former vice president raises $27M to help people age healthier

Melissa Eamer, former vice president at Amazon and COO at Glossier, is starting Modern Age (New York, New York) and has raised $27 million in Series A funding led by Oak HC/FT. The company aims to help people live longer, healthier lives by providing digital tools to help users understand their aging options, starting with taking an assessment across variables to determine how old they feel and areas of health and wellness that are most important. The company plans to launch initially in the areas of skin, hair, bones and hormones. Also participating in the round are GV and founding partner Juxtapose, which gave the company a seed round in 2020 to bring the company’s total funding to $33 million.

Sugar-free brand Good Good closes $2M funding round

Good Good (Reykjavik, Iceland), maker of no-added sugar products including jams, spreads and keto bars, has raised $2 million in a Series A follow-up round of investment led by current investors, Icepharma, K2B Investments and Aton.JL. The new funding, which comes a year after the brand had a $3 million Series A round, will help Good Good scale its production and new product innovation efforts. The company was founded in 2015 and sales in 2020 increased by 171% over the previous year, despite the major challenges in both production and distribution resulting from COVID-19. Positive sales growth has continued in 2021 for the diabetic-friendly brand.

Givaudan to boost its natural colors position with DDW acquisition

Swiss flavor manufacturer Givaudan (Vernier, Switzerland) will acquire DDW, The Color House (Louisville, Kentucky). The transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021, is expected to make Givaudan a key player in natural colors as the move will help build a worldwide natural color platform. No financial details of the deal were disclosed. The company’s 2025 strategy is to expand the company’s global Taste & Wellbeing division, and the DDW acquisition will bring the company closer to this goal. Founded in 1865, DDW is a privately held company specializing in natural colors, with 12 global manufacturing facilities.

Newcomer Do Good Foods gets $169M to turn food waste into animal feed

Do Good Foods (Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania) has started a closed-loop system to convert produce and meats that cannot be sold in grocery stores or used by food banks into animal feed with $169 million from asset manager Nuveen. The company has built a production facility capable of processing 160 tons of excess food from about 450 grocery store each day. It plans to introduce its first product, Do Good Chicken, in supermarkets and restaurants next year. Each package of Do Good Chicken will keep 1 pound of food waste from being wasted, according to the company. It intends to build production facilities similar to its initial facility in Pennsylvania during the next five years.

Kraft Heinz acquires another Brazilian company

Kraft Heinz will make an investment in BR Spices, becoming the majority shareholder of the Brazilian high-end spices brand. The purchased comes just one week after the purchase of Hemmer. BR Spices, which has its own plan in Jandira, will operate independently after the deal is closed, which is expected to be in the fourth quarter of this year. According to a statement from Kraft Heinz, BR Spices has a high growth potential and a portfolio of over 70 products.

INNBeauty lands minority investment

Clean beauty brand INNBeauty (White Plains, New York) received minority investment from Strand Equity and Beechwood Capital to support the company’s rollout with Sephora in North America to 490 stores and 200 Sephora at Kohl’s locations. The company, which launched in 2019 by two beauty industry veterans wanting to make a line of clean products that were more affordable to Gen Z consumers, also plans to use the funding to build out its team. “The beauty editor community is notoriously difficult to impress, so the reason we are receiving so much support is because our products truly perform,” said Jen Shane, co-founder of iNNBeauty. According to the brand, it saw 300% year-over-year growth. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Ireland’s Ornua buys US cheese company Whitehall Specialties

Irish dairy cooperative Ornua (Leinster, Ireland) has purchased U.S. cheese solutions business Whitehall Specialties (Whitehall, Wisconsin) from private equity firm Mason Wells for an undisclosed sum. Whitehall Specialties supplies manufacturers and food service customers with cheese solutions, including imitation cheeses and cheese substitutes. The acquisition is expected to strengthen the position of Ornua’s U.S. ingredients division, Ornua Ingredients North America, in the country’s cheese ingredients market. “By bringing together two market leaders, in complementary parts of the ingredients sector, we are creating a powerful partnership that builds a strong foundation for a long-term, sustainable future,” said Ornua CEO John Jordan.

Culture Biosciences raises $80M in Series B funding

Culture Biosciences (San Francisco, California), a company enabling biotech firms to develop and scale manufacturing processes in the cloud, announced a Series B financing of $80 million led by Northpond Ventures. Synthesis Capital also participated in the round. Andrew Lee, PhD, of Northpond Ventures will join Culture’s Board of Directors. The company fills a need for manufacturing capacity necessary to support the new wave of synthetic biology products expected to come to the market. According to company, today’s global capacity falls 100x short of what would be needed to meet the demand for fermentation-based animal protein in 2030.

Disclaimer: NCN does not warrant the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any NCN news item. Before relying on any NCN News item the information should be independently verified.

Savencia Fromage & Dairy buys No. 1 organic hummus brand Hope Foods

Hope Foods (Boulder, Colorado) has been acquired by Savencia Fromage & Dairy (Viroflay, France), a leading global milk processor and cheese manufacturer. Hope Foods was founded over 10 years ago and started by selling at the Boulder Farmers Market. Today, the brand’s hummus is the No. 1 organic hummus in the U.S. The sales includes Hope Foods’ plant in Louisville, Colorado, where its hummus and nut dips are manufactured. “Hope enlarges our brand’s portfolio in the USA into fast-growing, ‘better-for-you’ products and provides an excellent opportunity to expand consumer options for great-tasting, plant-based products,” said Jean-Paul Torris, Chief Executive Officer for Savencia Fromage & Dairy.

 

Seaweed producer Atlantic Sea Farms secures new funding

Atlantic Sea Farms (Saco, Maine) the first commercial seaweed farm in the U.S. and now representing over 80% of all cultivated seaweed in the country, has secured a new funding round, led by Desert Bloom Food Ventures. The funding will help the company build out a new state-of-the-art seaweed processing and innovation facility to process all landed kelp within hours of harvest. As the company prepares for the 2022 kelp season, it expects 3,000% growth since the company brought on new leadership in August 2018. As of the spring 2021 harvest, the company has removed approximately 150,000 pounds of carbon from Maine’s ocean in just three short growing seasons.

 

Pet brand Alpha Paws nabs $8M in series A funding

Alpha Paw (Austin, Texas) has raised $8 million in series A funding, led by Nordic Eye. After bootstrapping the company for the past three years, the company was relaunched in 2019 as a pet wellness company with the vision to help pets lead healthier and longer lives. The company produces food and supplements that are customized with pet breed in mind, such as nutritional supplementary toppings to mix in for ailments like allergies or hip and joint issues, based on data such as weight of the pet. Alpha Paw will use the new capital to fund customer acquisition growth, product expansion and general expansion, which includes a subscription model.

 

Sustainable lawn care company Sunday raises $50M in series C round

Coulter Lewis, who helped build Quinn Snacks with his wife, Kristy Lewis, launched direct-to-consumer lawn care company Sunday (Boulder, Colorado) after searching for natural options at a home improvement store and coming up empty. The company sends consumers products they need, when they need them, based on their lawn conditions. Sunday has raised a $50 million series C round led by BOND, with participation from existing investors Tusk Ventures, Sequoia and Forerunner Ventures, bringing the total funding to $78 million. Sunday touts that it has already helped reduce lawn pesticide use by 35,000 pounds so far in 2021 and hopes to reduce it by 75,000 over the next year.

 

Kingdom Supercultures gets $25M in series A funding to develop new natural ingredient category

Biodesign company Kingdom Supercultures (New York, New York) develops natural microbial cultures, which it calls “supercultures,” to be used in plant-based foods such as yogurts and cheeses as well as low-alcohol wines and beers. These supercultures are sold to consumer goods manufacturers to improve flavor, texture and functional properties of consumer products. The company will use the funding to expand its R&D work to meet demand for new ingredients. The round was led by Shine Capital and supported by Valor, Tao, Lux, SALT, Reference, Digitalis and existing investors, along with the founders of Daring Foods, Good Culture, Hungryroot, RXBAR, Waterloo and many others.

 

Bachan’s Japanese Barbecue Sauce gets investment lift from celebrity lineup

Japanese-style barbeque sauce maker Bachan’s (Sebastopol, California) has raised an undisclosed amount in a funding round led by private equity firm Prelude Growth Partners and with contributions from various celebrities including Aaron Paul, Ryan Tedder, Benny Blanco, Whitney Port, Max Thieriot, Chase Utley and Abe Burns. Former co-CEO of Whole Foods Market Walter Robb also contributed. The funding will go toward expanding the team, product creation and distribution. Bachan’s line of non-GMO and vegan sauces is the bestselling barbeque sauce on Amazon and is available at over 2,500 retailers across the U.S.

 

Private equity firm buys Local Hive Honey

Local Hive Honey (Greeley, Colorado) partners will local beekeepers across the country to produce its 23 varietals of raw and unfiltered honey. North Carolina-based private equity firm Falfurrias Capital Partners has purchased the brand, marking its first acquisition of its new fund. “Joining forces with Falfurrias Capital Partners will give us tremendous resources to realize our next chapter in the growth of Local Hive,” said Tony Landretti, who joined the company in 2013 in a consultative role and was appointed CEO in 2017 following a major rebrand that included a name change from Rice’s Lucky Clover Honey.

 

Upcycled snack brand Spudsy raises $3.3M in series A funding round

Spudsy (Costa Mesa, California), which makes plant-based snacks from upcycled imperfect sweet potatoes, has raised $3.3 million in a series A funding round led by KarpReilly and Stage 1 Fund. The company will use the new funds for hiring and store demonstrations. Spudsy claims that 150 million pounds of sweet potatoes end up in landfills due to minor imperfections like shape, size and color. The brand is working with a farm in North Carolina to use the sweet potatoes left in the field for a new salted snack, with plans to expand into other formats.

 

Swedish alt seafood startup Hooked Foods reels in €3.8 million

Hooked Foods (Stockholm, Sweden) has raised €3.8 million in a new financing round to help launch its plant-based salmon product and support ongoing R&D. The company launched its first product, Toonish, a tuna analogue, into retail chains and restaurants across Sweden earlier this year. The “tuna” is made from soy, wheat protein, sunflower oil and algae. The salmon will be developed using wet extrusion technology and will also contain seaweed and algae oil to provide omega-3 fatty acids.

 

Montreal’s Oggi Foods gets investment from Bregal Partners

Oggi Foods (Montreal, Canada), maker of gluten-free, organic frozen pizza and other food products, has received a growth equity investment from private equity firm Bregal Partners. “We were highly impressed with the quality of Oggi’s products and with the Company’s growth over the last several years, and we are thrilled to have this opportunity to partner with Oggi’s founders and management during this next exciting phase of the Company’s growth,” said Bregal Partners Managing Partner Charles Yoo. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

 

New Age Meats nabs $25M in series A funding

Cultured meat company New Age Meats (Berkeley, California) has raised $25 million in a series A funding round led by Hanwha Solutions of South Korea and joined by existing investors SOSV’s IndieBio, TechU Ventures, ff VC and Siddhi Capital. The company, which was founded in 2018, makes meat from animal cells. The funding will allow the company to begin production of its first product in 2022, which will be a variety of pork sausages, as well as double its workforce and expand R&D. The company also plans to build a 20,000-square-foot pilot manufacturing facility in Alameda.

Disclaimer: NCN does not warrant the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any NCN news item. Before relying on any NCN News item the information should be independently verified.