Sports nutrition company Picky Bars scooped up by Laird Superfood

Laird Superfood (Sisters, Oregon), which is backed by Danone and went public last year on NYSE, has acquired Picky Bars (Bend, Oregon) for $12 million. Laird Hamilton, founder of Laird Superfood, had been impressed by Picky Bars’ business for years. “For us, it’s about finding that authentic connection and passion for building delicious, better-for-you that everyone can enjoy, and we see that same drive within Picky Bars,” Hamilton said.

 

Plant-based ice cream Wildgood ships to consumer doorsteps for $9

Olive oil ice cream brand Wildgood (Montpelier, Vermont) is now shipping anywhere in the continental U.S. Wildwood, a plant-based ice cream made with extra virgin olive oil, is expanding to direct-to-consumer distribution for $9 per pint (plus tax and shipping) after rolling out to Whole Foods Market, Wegmans and other select grocery stores in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.

 

Renewal Mill closes a $250,000 investment with ICA’s Growth Fund

ICA Accelerator alumni Renewal Mill (Oakland, California) received $250,000 from ICA’s Growth Fund toward the upcycled food company’s $1 million funding round. ICA’s Growth Fund, which makes growth equity investments of $100,000 to $1 million, focuses on serving entrepreneurs of color and women. In this funding round, ICA is joined by Beyond Impact Advisors, Emil Capital Partners and the Georgetown Angel Investor Network.

 

Personalized nutrition startup Zoe gets $20M from football players and others

Zoe, a personalized nutrition startup based in London, England, and Boston, Massachusetts, has raised a total of $53 million with the close of its latest B finding round. The round was led by Ahren Innovation Capital, which counts two Nobel laureates as science partners, as well as two former American football players, Eli Manning and Ositadimma Umenyiora. Zoe was founded in 2017 but researched the gut biome for its first three years, with the help of scientists from Massachusetts General Hospital, Stanford Medicine, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and King’s College London. The company is named after the Greek word for “life.”

 

Pete and Gerry’s acquired by private equity firm Butterfly

Organic egg company Pete and Gerry’s (Monroe, New Hampshire) has been acquired by private equity firm Butterfly (Los Angeles, California) for an undisclosed amount. Pete and Gerry’s Organics—producer of organic, free-range and pasture-raised eggs under its Pete and Gerry’s Organics, Nellie’s Free Range and Consider Pastures brands—had over $200 million in sales in 2018. Butterfly purchased Orgain in 2019. British Columbia Investment Management Corporation and Laflamme are minority investors in Pete and Gerry’s.

 

Biofabrication company Modern Meadow nabs $130M

Modern Meadow (Nutley, New Jersey and Brooklyn, New York) raised $130 million in a Series C funding round led by Key Partners Capital and participation from Astanor Ventures, Horizons Ventures and Cape Capital. The company, which recently named Anna Bakst as CEO, uses biofabrication to create sustainable materials by integrating design, biology and material science. The raise will go toward research and development across material science and biotechnology.

 

Gaming company Razer invests in bamboo toilet tissue brand

Razer (Irvine, California, and Singapore), which designs hardware, peripherals and accessories for gamers, has announced a seed investment in The Nurturing Co. (Singapore), which makes sustainable consumer products including Bambooloo, toilet paper made from sustainably sourced bamboo pulp and sold in plastic-free packaging. The investment is the first from the company’s Razer Green Fund, a $50 million commitment and part of the company’s 10-year sustainability roadmap that it revealed in March. The fund aims to “foster a green mindset amongst Razer’s community of youth, millennials and Gen Z” gamers, Razer said in a statement.

 

Something Better Foods gets $500,000 investment from ICA

Plant-based protein maker Something Better Foods (Vallejo, California) has received a $500,000 investment from ICA. “With this investment, we will be able to expand our operations and provide meaningful employment opportunities for the local community,” said Chef GW Chew, CEO of Something Better Foods. Since December, ICA has deployed more than $1.5 million in growth equity to Bay Area companies.

Read more at NewHope.com:

GW “Chef” Chew on fighting food deserts in America

A conversation with GW Chew: How the natural products industry can better serve people of color

 

Unilever to acquire Onnit

Unilever has added Onnit (Austin, Texas) to its growing wellness and supplement portfolio. Onnit, which was founded in 2010, makes supplements with ingredients that support cognitive function—including Alpha Brain, a nootropic for better memory, focus and mental processing—mood and relaxation, gut health and immunity. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Onnit will continue to be based in Austin and led by CEO Jason Harvey.

 

King’s Hawaiian buys Grillo’s Pickles

Grillo’s Pickles (Boston, Massachusetts) has been sold to bakery company King’s Hawaiian (Torrance, California) for an undisclosed amount. CEO and founder Travis Grillo has left the company but the company will remain in Boston. Investors in the brand included Breakaway Capital, Centerman Capital and Food Retail Ventures.

 

Tony’s Chocolonely acquires a chocolate factory to mold its own bars

Tony’s Chocolonely (Amsterdam, Netherlands), a company whose mission is to end slavery in the chocolate supply chain, has purchased Althaea-De Laet International NV, a Borsbeek, Belgium, factory that has been Tony’s co-packer. With the acquisition, Tony’s Chocolonely will operate its own factory to innovate faster, provide more product flexibility and increase manufacturing capacity. Slave Free Chocolate recently dropped Tony’s Chocolonely from its list of ethical producers because a processor is being sued for using child labor on a cocoa plantation.
Read more at NewHope.com: Anti-slavery chocolate is taken off ethical list

 

Evo Foods secures $845K and readies for India market launch

Plant-based egg startup Evo Foods (Mumbai, India) closed its pre-seed round, raising $845,000 to prepare for its launch in the India market and grow its R&D and marketing teams. The company, which was founded in 2019 by Kartik Dixit and Shraddha Bhansali, is preparing for an international launch in 2022. Evo makes a 100% vegan egg liquid from lentils. The round received support from Sustainable Food Ventures; Michiel Van Deursen at Capital V; Vaibhav Domkundwar at Better Capital; Anil Advani at Inventus Law; Sweden-based Kale United; Seven Hound ventures of Los Angeles, California; Hearthstone Investments, and members of the U.S.-based Glasswall Syndicate.

 

Biotech company Longevica to launch supplement line later this year

After spending 11 years researching supplements to increase human longevity, Longevica (Princeton, New Jersey) says it created a biotechnology platform from studying the lifespan of laboratory mice. With that technology, and $13 million it recently raised from investors, Longevica plans to launch medicines, dietary supplements and food later this year. Longevica’s platform is based on the work of Alexey Ryazanov, a molecular biologist and professor of pharmacology at Rutgers University who holds 10 U.S. patents and is a longtime researcher into the regulation of protein biosynthesis cells.

 

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.

SunOpta buys Dream and WestSoy brands from Hain Celestial

After manufacturing the brands for more than a decade, SunOpta (Mississauga, Ontario) now owns the Dream and WestSoy brands, which were sold by The Hain Celestial Group (Lake Success, New York). SunOpta hopes the $33 million acquisition will accelerate the growth of its plant-based foods and beverages segment. “These two brands are perfect examples of niche brands that complement, but do not directly compete with, our vitally important co-manufactured partners,” said SunOpta CEO Joe Ennen.

 

Meat giant JBS acquires plant-based meat brand Vivera for $408 million

JBA SA, the world’s largest meat supplier, continues to bet on the exploding plant-based trend. The company’s recently acquired plant-based food producer Vivera BV (Netherlands). Vivera, Europe’s third-largest plant-based food producer, has a portfolio of 50 different food items and sells its products in 25 European countries. JBS purchased Vivera for 341 million euros ($408 million) but is awaiting regulatory approval.

 

Taste Republic owner Tribe 9 scoops up restaurant brand Carla’s Pasta

Tribe 9 (Windsor, Connecticut), maker of gluten-free pasta brand Taste Republic, bought Carla’s Pasta (South Windsor, Connecticut) for $26.3 million at an auction. The Carla’s Pasta business was hit hard by the pandemic and forced the restaurant brand to file for bankruptcy. Operations will transfer to Tribe 9 when the purchase is finalized later this month. Tribe 9 plans to continue to operate the manufacturing facilities while preserving production and jobs.

 

OneThird furthers technology to predict produce shelf life with $1.8 million raise

Food tech company OneThird (Netherlands) has raised $1.8 million to further develop a platform to “look inside” produce to determine its remaining shelf life. The company’s shelf-life predicting technology helps growers, retailers and distributors cut down on food waste by utilizing near-infrared sensors and artificial intelligence throughout multiple stages of the supply chain. OneThird will also use the funding—provided by SHIFT Invest and Oost NL—to expand retail pilots of its platform.

 

Newcomer Vejii buys veteran plant-based e-tailer Vegan Essentials, raises CA$10 million

Canada’s Vejii has acquired U.S. e-commerce platform Vegan Essentials (Waukesha, Wisconsin), which has grown into one of the largest exclusively plant-based retailers in the U.S. since it opened in 1997. The $1.4 million purchase will provide Vejii (Kelowna, British Columbia) more than 20 years of consumer insights and data to establish a stronger foothold in e-commerce. The newcomer—launched just four months ago—also raised CA$10 million ($7.9 million) led by Eight Capital to fuel its expansion into the online vegan marketplace.

 

RipeLocker secures $5 million more to improve shipping perishables

Startup RipeLocker (Seattle, Washington) secured an additional $5 million for its Series B round of funding. The company will use the funds, led by angel investors, to make specialized containers that extend the life of fresh food after harvest. In completed trials, the reusable pallet-sized containers held freshly harvested organic blueberries in “pristine condition” for eight weeks and fresh hops for six weeks. RipeLocker has raised a total of $12 million.

 

Arcadia Biosciences purchases Spanish food ingredient company Agrasys

U.S. agricultural biotechnology company Arcardia (Davis, California) has acquired Agrasys (Bareclona, Spain) for its novel cereal grain tritordeum. The acquisition will enable Arcadia to commercialize the proprietary grain, which is a combination of durum wheat and wild barley and is high in fiber, protein and lutein. Agrasys has commercialized the grain in 10 countries with seven retailers in Europe, including grocery retailer Albert Heijn in the Netherlands.

 

Supplement startup Feel gets $6.2 million

Feel (London, England) closed a $6.2 million investment led by Fuel Ventures and with participation from TMT Investments; Sova VC; Richard Longhurst, founder of LoveHoney.com; and Igor Ryabenkiy, founder and GP of Altair Capital. The U.K. startup is a year old and has a direct-to-consumer subscription model, which it says will keep costs down for consumers.

 

Skin care brand Disco nabs $5 million in seed round

Disco (Austin, Texas) raised $5 million in seed funding led by Midnight Venture Partners with participation from Paul Hedrick, founder of Tecovas; Bryan Mahoney, founder of Arfa Brands and former CTO of Glossier; and Taylor O’Neil, founder of Richards Rainwater. The skin care startup intends to use the funds to scale the business and expand its product offering as well as accelerate rollout to hundreds of retail doors across the U.S. this year.

 

Jellatech closes a $2 million pre-seed round for its animal-free collagen

Launched in November, Jellatech (Raleigh, North Carolina) has raised $2 million in a pre-seed financing round to fuel the company’s continued development of animal-free collagen and gelatin ingredients. The company is looking to provide a replacement for animal-based ingredients in multiple industries such as food and beverage products like gummy bears as well as supplements, skin care and cosmetics. “Being able to manufacture native collagen without animals is unique, this is what makes our technology truly groundbreaking,” explained co-founder Kylie van Deinsen-Hesp, who heads the science behind Jellatech. The round saw participation from a number of venture capital investors, including Iron Grey, YellowDog, 7 Hound Ventures, Capital V, Sentient Investments and Bluestein Ventures.

 

Atlast Food raises $40 million from high-profile investor lineup

Atlast Food Co., the maker of mushroom-sourced bacon, has raised $40 million from a roster of investors that includes the founders of Applegate, Stonyfield Organics and Whole Foods Market; Stray Dog Capital; and Robert Downey Jr.’s Footprint Coalition Ventures. The company sells its own branded product line, MyBacon, to a select set of specialty retailers but plans to sell its patented mycelium-based ingredient that mimics the texture of bacon to other food companies getting in on the alternative meat craze. Most of the funding will go toward construction and staffing of the company’s new production facility—expected to be the world’s largest mycelium farm.

 

Chickapea nabs $9.3 million in a Series C round

Organic pasta brand Chickapea (Collingwood, Ontario) received a seed capital investment from District Ventures Capital in 2017 after participating in the District Ventures Accelerator program. The company has now gained another $9.3 million from District, co-led with InvestEco Capital and Export Development Canada. The funds from the Series C round will be used to support Chickapea as it continues to grow in both Canada and the U.S. and expand its product line to include more nutrient-dense pasta. The certified B Corp produces organic pasta made with only chickpeas and lentils.

 

Aussie effervescent vitamins brand Voost sells to Procter & Gamble

VitaminHaus, which operates consumer brand Voost (Melbourne, Australia), has sold to Procter & Gamble for an undisclosed sum. After seven years of growth, the brand leads the effervescent vitamin category in Australia and has large distribution in grocery and pharmacy retailers throughout the country, as well as in Singapore, Hong Kong and the U.K. Founder Thomas Siebel said the acquisition will help “elevate the brand to a new level,” including launching in more markets worldwide.

 

Cultured Decadence closes $1.6 million pre-seed round

Cultured Decadence (Madison, Wisconsin), which specialized in cell-cultured seafood products such as lab-grown lobster meat, has closed a $1.6 million pre-seed round of funding. The company received non-dilutive funding from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. administered by the Center for Technology Commercialization. Other investors included Bluestein Ventures, Joyance Partners, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, gener8tor, GlassWall Syndicate, Bascom Ventures and Dao Foods, The financing will go toward expanding the Cultured Decadence team and technical progress toward a commercial launch.

 

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.

DSM puts up $100M to launch personalized health startup Hologram

A new personalized health and nutrition company called Hologram Sciences (Boston, Massachusetts, and New York, New York) has started up with $100 million in backing from Royal DSM (Heerlen, Netherlands). With a proprietary digital platform at its core, Hologram will launch consumer-facing brands that combine health diagnostics, digital coaching and personalized nutrition solutions to address a variety of health needs. DSM says that as solutions are validated in the market, they’ll become available to its customers. Hologram will also incubate products with DSM customers and partners, the company says.

 

Good Catch nets $26.4M to take plant-based seafood to new markets

Gathered Foods (Austin, Texas), maker of Good Catch plant-based seafood, has $26.4 million in new bridge funding to help it ramp up product innovation and grow its international retail and foodservice footprint, starting with Europe. The investment came from Louis Dreyfus Company, Unovis Asset Management, Big Idea Ventures and others. Good Catch sells plant-based tuna pouches and frozen entrees across the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands and Spain. Last year, it opened a state-of-the-art production facility and secured a distribution partnership with Bumble Bee Foods to scale through new distribution channels.

 

Sun-Maid buys Plum Organics from Campbell

As part of its ongoing strategy to pare down its portfolio and focus on core categories, Campbell Soup Co. has sold organic baby and kids food brand Plum Organics (Emeryville, California) to Sun-Maid Growers of California (Fresno, California). Plum and its portfolio of certified organic foods for children are a natural fit for Sun-Maid, according to leaders of the iconic brand, which sells raisins and other dried fruit snacks. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

 

With $24M, Mission Barns looks to scale up cultivated animal fats

Hoping to be a game-changer for the meat alternative sector, Mission Barns (San Francisco, California) is ready to scale up its cultivated fat technology platform and build a pilot manufacturing plant with $24 million in series A funding. Mission Barns says it can grow pure animal fat in a lab, using just a handful of animal cells and a fraction of the natural resources required to raise livestock. It plans to use those animal fats to lend flavor, mouthfeel and meatiness to plant-based meat products, which it will develop on its own and through collaborations with plant-based partners. A number of food and agriculture investors participated in the round, including Lever VC, Gullspång Re:Food, Humboldt Fund, Green Monday Ventures, Enfini Ventures and an unnamed European meat company.

 

Men’s health startup Manual brings in $30M

On a mission to empower men to take better care of themselves, Manual (London, England) has collected $30 million in series A funding to develop new products and expand across Europe, Asia and Latin America. Manual markets vitamins, skin care, blood tests, and treatments for hair loss and erectile dysfunction directly to men in Europe and Brazil. U.S. investors Sonoma Brands, Waldencast and FJ Labs, and European investors Felix Capital, Cherry Ventures and the GISEV Family Office provided the funding.

 

Smartway secures $11.8M to help stores scale back food waste

Technology company Smartway (Nantes, France) has closed a €10 million (about $11.8 million) investment from Supernova Invest, Evolem Start, Holnest, IDIA Capital Investissement and UNEXO. Launched in 2004, Smartway currently offers AI-powered solutions to help more than 400 French retailers waste less food and increase profitability. Its technology identifies products that are nearing their expiration date, decides whether they should be discarded or donated, then prints discount labels or navigates the administrative procedures for donating. With the new funding, Smartway hopes to enhance its technology and add thousands more supermarkets across Europe by 2025.

 

Getir gets $300M to grow 10-minute grocery delivery in Europe

Just two months after finalizing a $128 million series B round, grocery delivery company Getir (Istanbul, Turkey) has raised $300 million more to fund its expansion into new European markets. Getir delivers 1,500 products to people in an average of 10 minutes. Currently, it operates in Turkey and London and plans to expand to Germany, France and the Netherlands. The new round, which valued Getir at $2.6 billion, was led by Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global.

 

Contract manufacturer INW changes ownership, adds supplement firm Bee Health

Innovations in Nutrition + Wellness (Dallas, Texas), a provider of R&D, manufacturing and packaging for wellness and nutrition brands, has been bought by a group of investors led by Cornell Capital, together with INW company leadership. Terms of the deal with its previous owner, Rosewood Private Investments, weren’t disclosed. Simultaneously, INW acquired supplement maker Bee Health (Yorkshire, England). “It’s currently one of the few scaled players in the region with capabilities across all key product formats and specialization across tablets, capsules and softgels,” INW said in a statement. Together, they’ll be able to expand manufacturing capabilities, add new product forms and expand geographically.

 

New investors join mushroom innovator Ecovative’s $60M round

Ecovative Design (Green Island, New York) has already found commercial success using mushroom mycelium to develop replacements for foam packaging, furniture, leather and bacon (through a spinout food company called Atlast). Now it’s got eyes on new applications for mycelium and has $60 million in funding to pursue them, with the goal of becoming a white label supplier of mushroom-based materials for a more sustainable planet. New investors including Viking Global Investors joined Senator Investment Group, AiiM Partners, Trousdale Ventures and others in the latest round.

 

Simple Botanics sells to DTC e-commerce company

Marking its second acquisition in the last year, e-commerce holding company Brand Holdings (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) has bought Simple Botanics (Chicago, Illinois), maker of herbal teas and organic bars. Brand Holdings, which was formed in July of last year, acquires and grows direct-to-consumer e-commerce companies focused on health and wellness, sports nutrition, beauty and functional foods. Last year, it bought sports nutrition brand Dr. Emil Nutrition. With Simple Botanics, the plan is to accelerate growth of current product lines across all retail channels and add new ones.

 

Pandemic pivot brings SnackMagic a $15M series A

Craft Ventures and Luxor Capital have invested in a $15 million series A for snack box startup SnackMagic (New York, New York). When the pandemic hit in March 2020, founder Shaunak Amin pivoted from his previous venture Stadium, a lunch delivery service targeting corporate offices. The company reworked its platform to support the work-from-home trend, launching a service that businesses can use to deliver curated or customized snack boxes to employees, clients or business partners. With the funding, SnackMagic plans to scale its warehouse capacity and logistics support, and extend into other kinds of gifting categories.

 

Tempeh brand Better Nature leverages crowdfunding for $2.2M round

Two-year-old plant-based company Better Nature (London, England) brought in £1.6 million (about $2.2 million) on the equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs to help with marketing and product development efforts. The maker of tempeh-based products that are stocked in more than 200 retailers says it plans to launch a new range of meat alternatives in June. Supporters of the round included Ascension Ventures Good Food Fund and Kale United.

 

Online vegan grocer TheVeganKind attracts $4.8M

Literacy Capital has led a £3.5 million (about $4.8 million) series A funding round for TheVeganKind (Glasgow, U.K.), which started as a vegan subscription delivery box service in 2013 before launching an online supermarket in 2016. It now operates a 35,000-square-foot warehouse and offers thousands of plant-based food, beauty and lifestyle products for next-day delivery in the U.K. With the new funding, the company says it’s looking to grow with new retail and consumer experiences.

 

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.

Berlin grocery delivery startup Gorillas snatches up $290M

Promising to deliver groceries and other everyday items to customers in as little as 10 minutes, Gorillas (Berlin, Germany) has taken the European market by storm in the 10 months since its founding. Now it’s raised a $290 million series B (following a $44 million series A closed in December) and has its sights set on more international growth. The delivery startup operates 40 micro fulfillment centers and employs more than 1,000 delivery riders across Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. With the new funding—from Coatue Management, DST Global, Tencent, Green Oaks, Fifth Wall, Dragoneer and Atlantic Food Labs—it’s looking to set up operations in Paris, New York City and dozens of other cities across the world.

 

Meatable gets $47M to grow its cultivated meat portfolio

Meatable (Delft, the Netherlands) is equipped with $47 million in fresh series A funding to continue work on its cultivated meat products. Meatable says its proprietary process, which mimics the natural process of fat and muscle growth, enables a more cost-effective and scalable solution for meat production. After finalizing its first pork showcase product last year, the startup is adding cultivated beef to its repertoire. The new funds came from a consortium of life science and food investors including Section 32, DSM Venturing, BlueYard Capital, Agronomics, Humboldt and individual investors.

 

Stonewall Kitchen scoops up spice supplier Urban Accents

Specialty food retailer Stonewall Kitchen (York, Maine) has acquired Urban Accents (Chicago, Illinois). Urban Accents sells more than 150 seasonings and sauces in stores including Whole Foods, Macy’s and Safeway. Stonewall Kitchen, which is owned by private equity firm Audax, owns brands including Tillen Farms, Vermont Village and Napa Valley Naturals, as well as retail stores and cooking schools. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

 

Pro athletes, investors back coffee-infused energy bars with $2.5M

Quantum Energy Squares (Los Angeles, California) uses plant-based protein, caffeine from organic green coffee and MCT oil from coconuts to craft a wholesome, nutritious energy bar with athlete appeal. Now, the startup has $2.5 million in funding to help it ramp up brand awareness through marketing, sampling and events. Launched in 2019, Quantum counts tennis stars Sloane Stephens, Mike Bryan and Sam Querrey, and soccer MVP Jozy Altidore among its investors. Following national launches in Whole Foods Market and Sprouts Farmers Market, the startup is focused on continuing to grow in the natural channel and branching out into the sports and convenience channels.

 

Ag tech startup Amfora gets $6M to pump up the protein in crops

Leaps by Bayer and Spruce Capital Partners invested $6 million in a series B for Amfora (San Francisco, California), a startup that’s using gene-editing techniques to increase the protein density of crops, starting with soy. The proceeds from the financing will also support Amfora’s development of other crops, such as rice and wheat, with improved nutritional profiles. “Our protein-rich crops will enable manufacturers of plant-based meat, dairy and seafood to meet the growing demand for their products at lower costs while allowing them to take meaningful steps to address the climate crisis,” CEO Lloyd Kunimoto said.

 

Vegan chicken maker takes aim at factory farming with $3.4M seed round

VFC Foods (York, England) launched in December, but the startup is already working on a second iteration of its vegan fried chicken and plans to use €2.5 million (about $3.4 million) in new seed funding to scale up production and grow its brand. VFC sells a line of fried chicken alternatives—made from wheat protein, sesame seeds, corn flakes and other plant-based ingredients—in the U.K. and Spain. With the ultimate goal of wiping out factory farming, it’s focused on competing directly with chicken on price, taste and convenience. The seed funding came from plant-based investors Veg Capital and Johnson Resolutions, as well as the company’s senior leadership team.

 

Abby’s Better Nut Butters net $1M in seed round

Women-owned and family operated nut butter brand Abby’s Better (Charlotte, North Carolina) has new investors—including NBA star Kevin Love and model Kate Bock—and $1 million in new funding to reach new customers. Abby’s makes clean-label, peanut-free and paleo-friendly nut butters in unique flavors such as French toast pecan and strawberry cashew. With the seed funding, it plans to invest in building brand awareness and scaling its national retail distribution, though it’s seen great success with online sales over the last year.

 

Danone invests in functional wellness shots

Danone Manifesto Ventures and several high-profile investors have equipped Moju (London, England) with €2.5 million (about $3.4 million) to accelerate the growth of its functional wellness shots. Formulated without sugar or artificial ingredients, Moju’s product line taps into the functional benefits of plant ingredients such as ginger root, turmeric, lemon and seaweed. Its offerings come in individual and multi-shot bottles, including a recently launched prebiotic beverage, that sell in retail stores and direct-to-consumer online.

 

Whitebridge adds pet supplement brand

Whitebridge Pet Brands (St. Louis, Missouri) has acquired Grizzly Pet Products (Woodinville, Washington), maker of Wild Alaskan fish oil supplements for cats and dogs. Whitebridge was founded in 2015 as the result of a merger between pet treat manufacturer Cloud Star and Petropics, maker of Tiki Cat and Tiki Dog. Since then, it’s acquired a handful of other pet brands including Dogswell and Pet Botanics. Grizzly Pet Products markets its supplements in pet specialty channels in North America and Europe.

 

NY startup nabs $15.4M for instant groceries

Groceries delivered in 15 minutes or less: That’s the premise of Fridge No More (Brooklyn, New York), the latest food delivery startup to get funded. A $15.4 million series A from Insight Partners and Altair Capital will fund its expansion across New York City and the East Coast. Fridge No More offers more than 2,000 SKUs through its app-based platform. Orders are picked at its warehouses then delivered by employees on bikes or scooters. Since fulfilling its first order in October, the startup says it now averages 200 orders per day.

 

Canadian vegan meal kit maker Vegano lifts off with $4.2M

Just a few months after officially launching, new plant-based meal kit delivery company Vegano (Vancouver, British Columbia) has closed a $4.2 million series A. The startup sources fresh ingredients from local suppliers and delivers them to customers weekly. Next on the agenda for Vegano is accelerating product development, boosting marketing efforts, preparing for the upcoming launch of its vegan marketplace, and expanding its services to Toronto, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and Los Angeles, California, later this year.

 

Keto dog food startup closes $2M seed round

Dog food startup KetoNatural Pet Foods (Salt Lake City, Utah) has raised $2 million in seed financing led by Corazon Capital. Founded on the premise that carbohydrates are the root cause of many pets’ health problems, KetoNatural Pet Foods created a high-protein, low-carbohydrate dry food with a nutritional profile that’s similar to fresh or raw food but offers the convenience and price point of kibble. Much of the $2 million investment will go toward marketing, expanding the product line, hiring staff and new scientific work.

 

Food safety, traceability take center stage in iFoodDS’s $15M series A

iFoodDecisionSciences Inc. (Seattle, Washington) and its fresh food supply chain platform have garnered $15 million in series A funding led by Insight Partners. Next steps for the 8-year-old company are to focus on product innovation and expand into new markets and categories. iFoodDS offers a cloud-based platform to provide growers, processors, distributors and retailers with real-time insights that improve the safety, traceability and quality management of the fresh food supply chain.

 

Eat Just looks to crack the Canadian market with $200M

Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar, has led a $200 million funding round for Eat Just (San Francisco, California), bringing the plant-based food company’s total funding to more than $650 million since 2011. Its first cultured chicken product was approved by regulators in Singapore last year, and it now plans to seek approval in other markets. The funding, which also comes from Charlesbank Capital Partners and Vulcan Capital, will help Eat Just scale its manufacturing operations and work to lower the cost of cultured meat production. Meanwhile, it’s also announced plans to take its pourable Just Egg product to hundreds of grocery stores and foodservice providers in Canada.

 

Grocery e-commerce firm looks to enter new markets with $21M financing

Stor.ai (Tel Aviv, Israel), formerly known as Self Point, positions itself as an alternative to Instacart, offering end-to-end e-commerce solutions to help retailers thrive in an increasingly digital market. The company announced it closed $21 million in extended series A funding led by Meitav Dash and Mizrahi Tefahot, with support from Kli Capital and individual investors. With the new capital, it plans to build out its digital tools, accelerate growth in North America and enter new markets in Latin America and Europe.

 

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.

WeFarm brings in $11M to link up small-scale farmers

As an extension of its $13 million series A in 2019, WeFarm (London, England) has closed another $11 million tranche from Octopus Ventures, True Ventures, Rabo Frontier Ventures, LocalGlobe, June Fund and AgFunder. Founded in 2015, WeFarm has built a social network to enable small independent farmers in the developing world to exchange ideas or advice, sell or trade equipment, and network with others. While it has a website, most users access the network through an SMS interface. The new investment will fund WeFarm’s move to an app-based platform that will allow it to expand to more countries and reach more farmers.

 

 

PanTheryx adds probiotic maker TruBiotics

In alignment with its strategy to accelerate growth in the probiotics and microbiome category, PanTheryx (Phoenix, Arizona) has acquired the TruBiotics probiotic brand from Bayer HealthCare. PanTheryx is a leader in colostrum-based nutrition for human and animal health. With TruBiotics, it adds a line of products made with a proprietary blend of two probiotic strains to support digestive and immune health. The company plans to continue offering TruBiotics products through retail and e-commerce channels and anticipates strong growth in the U.S. and in other major international markets.

 

 

Functional beverages draw $2.7M in seed funding for Cloud Water

Two-year-old Cloud Water Brands (New York, New York) announced a $2.7 million seed round that will allow the functional beverage startup to grow its product lines in both retail and direct-to-consumer. Currently, its portfolio includes CBD sparkling waters and a newly launched line of drinks designed to support immune health with vitamin D and zinc. A number of investors participated in the round, including The Lockton Co., former Glaceau board member Bruce Nierenberg, and NHL stars Adam Fox and Scott Mellanby.

 

 

 

Natural indigo maker takes on the denim industry with $9M series B

Stony Creek Colors (Springfield, Tennessee) announced the first closing of its series B funding round, which it expects to total more than $9 million. With the new funding, the indigo supplier can embark on a geographical expansion of its crops and scale its operations. While traditional synthetic indigo used in denim relies on petroleum-based processes that leave behind toxic residue, Stony Creek’s plant-based indigo is free from these toxins and creates a valuable rotation opportunity for farmers. Lewis and Clark AgriFood led the round, which also included Innova Ag Innovation Fund, iSelect, Green Spark Capital and Next Wave Impact.

 

 

Pet supplements firm Food Science Corp. bought by PE firm

Food Science Corp. (Williston, Vermont), the R&D engine behind pet treat and supplement brands VetriScience Laboratories, Pet Naturals and DaVinci Laboratories, has sold to private equity firm Wind Point Partners (Chicago, Illinois). The family-owned company also formulates and manufactures private label and custom nutritional supplements. Wind Point is a longtime investor in the pet industry, with current investments in Petmate and Targeted PetCare. In a statement, Managing Director Paul Peterson said Food Science is “well-positioned to capitalize on the acceleration of e-commerce and growth in human and pet nutritional supplements.”

 

Porter Road bags $10M for pasture-raised meat delivery

On a mission to take meat production in a more sustainable direction, Porter Road (Nashville, Tennessee) has garnered a $10 million investment to grow its whole-animal butchery business. The company sources pasture-raised meat from local farmers, which it hand cuts in its facility and ships to customers and restaurants across the country. In line with its sustainable, whole-animal philosophy, Porter Road is also expanding its product line to include cooking tallows and fats. The funding, which came from L37 Ventures and a number of other venture and angel investors, will help ready its new processing facility in Kentucky.

 

Beauty brand incubator buys clean fragrance maker Phlur

The Center (Los Angeles, California), a beauty brand incubator and investor started by HatchBeauty Brands cofounder Ben Bennett, has a new portfolio company in Phlur (Austin, Texas). The digital-first brand sells cruelty-free, sustainably sourced fragrances and body care products on its website and in select retail stores. It joins Naturium and Make Beauty as part of The Center’s portfolio. Plans for Phlur include nurturing the direct-to-consumer business, broadening relationships with retail partners and launching new products.

 

Fake meat maker Planted looks beyond central Europe with $18M series A

Alternative meats continue to rake in investor cash. Among the latest to get funded is Planted (Zurich, Switzerland), which raised an $18 million series A to grow distribution of its vegetarian chicken alternatives and develop new products. Planted uses pea protein, pea fiber and other plant-based ingredients to mimic the texture of chicken. It sells cutlet and pulled-style faux meats in more than 3,000 retail stores across Switzerland, Germany and Austria, and also works with food service partners. Vorwerk Ventures and Blue Horizon Ventures co-led the round, with other investors also joining in.

 

Biota addition boosts Novozymes’ probiotic R&D

Biotech firm Novozymes (Copenhagen, Denmark) has acquired the R&D team and data science platform of industrial genomics company Biota (San Diego, California). As it pursues growth in probiotic development, Novozymes says the acquisition will allow it to discover new microbes and new applications for microbes that benefit human and animal health, as well as sustainability.

 

Ag investors bet $17M that insect pheromones can ward off pests

BioPhero (Copenhagen, Denmark), a startup spun out of the Technical University of Denmark, has completed a $17 million series A to fund the manufacturing of its first commercial product. With the goal of reducing farmers’ reliance on potentially harmful chemical pesticides, BioPhero developed a natural way to deter pests from crops. Using fermentation technology, the company produces insect pheromones which, when sprayed on crops, inhibits pests’ ability to reproduce. Life science investor DCVC Bio led the round, while FMC Ventures, Syngenta Ventures and Novo Holdings also participated.

 

Vegan pizza maker locks in $1.5M to grow retail presence

After pivoting its focus from restaurants to retailers and e-commerce during the pandemic, plant-based food brand Blackbird Foods (Long Island City, New York) has closed a $1.5 million seed funding round to double down on that approach. It makes a line of seitan products and frozen vegan pizzas using Violife’s plant-based cheese. This year, it’s looking to ramp up its retail presence, with Whole Foods and Harmons joining its distribution lineup. Alt-protein venture fund Lever VC led the seed round, and Sustainable Food Ventures joined in.

 

Drinkable oat brand scoops up $2M

Oats Overnight (Tempe, Arizona) has $2 million in capital to support R&D efforts and distribution growth. The brand makes on-the-go breakfast packets that contain oats, protein (either whey or pea) and other plant ingredients such as dates, chia seeds, hemp seeds and monk fruit. Users combine them with milk or a milk alternative, leave the concoction in the fridge overnight and then have a high-protein, on-the-go breakfast ready in the morning. The seed funding came from Schnitzel Capital and individual investors.

 

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