IFF’s Flavor Specialty Ingredients business to sell for $220M

IFF has announced the planned sale of its Flavor Specialty Ingredients business to Exponent, a UK-based private equity firm, for $220 million in cash proceeds. The transaction is expected to close by the end of Q3 2023, and the cash proceeds will be put toward reducing outstanding debt. Flavor Specialty Ingredients manufactures both synthetic and natural base aroma chemicals for the flavoring market and has a range of more than 1000 aroma chemicals and natural extracts. The business produces and distributes these in facilities across the globe.

Elo Life System closes $24.5M Series A round

Ingredient company Elo Life Systems has raised $24.5 million in new financing to accelerate the development of its zero-calorie sweetener made from watermelons. The new funding will aid Elo in advancing U.S. regulatory approvals, processing and market testing. Elo uses molecular farming to produce otherwise difficult ingredients to source and extract. Through this process, Elo says it can make ingredients more available, affordable and sustainable..

A $6M infusion to help Planetarians lift off

San Francisco-based company, Planetarians, creates whole cuts of plant-based protein using brewer’s yeast. A new $6 million venture capital infusion will take Planetarians into its next phase of commercial production. Planetarians was founded in 2013 and has worked on nutritional drinks, upcycled ingredients and byproducts. The new funding was considered as a second seed round led by Mindrock with participation from Traction Fund, Techstars, SOSV and A.B. InBev (its yeast provider).

Tofurky and its sister brand Moocho acquired for an undisclosed sum

Morinaga Nutritional Foods has acquired Tofurky and Moocho, both plant-based companies. Tofurky produces plant-based meat products, and Moocho produces dairy-free cheesecake and cream cheeses. Morinaga has actually been tofurky’s tofu supplier for 17 years. Morinaga Nutritional Foods is a subsidiary of dairy and soy manufacturer Morinaga Milk Industry.

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The Ugly Company closes $9M Series A round

Upcycled dry fruit snack producer, The Ugly Company, has raised $9 million in funding. Sun Valley Packing, a fruit grower and distributor, and Value Creation Strategies led the round. Other participation came from Justin Timberlake and investment firm Valley Ag Capital Holdings (VACH).

Lemon Perfect raises $36.8M in funding

Lemon Perfect’s founder and CEO has confirmed in an SEC filing that the company has raised $36.8 million in its equity deal led by Goat Rodeo Capital Management. Last year the company, which produces hydrating beverages, closed a $31 million Series A round with backing from Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. Her involvement brought on a lot of attention to the brand from investors and interested board members.

Roar Organic secures $6M in new funding

Another investment for a hydration beverage brand! Roar Organic recently announced that it raised $6 million in funding. Roar Organic’s beverages offer a blend of vitamins, antioxidants and electrolytes. The company will use the new funds to grow the brand’s product line, expand operations and business research.

Unilever invests in new hair care startup

Unilever Ventures has funded a $2 million pre-seed investment into Australian hair care startup Straand. Straand has created a line of prebiotic scalp and hair, microbiome-focused products that combat dryness, itching and dandruff. The new funding will support Straand’s expansion into the global market in the U.S., U.K., Europe and China.

A $2M seed round for sprayable caffeine

VAE Labs has announced a $2 million seed round to help bring its sprayable caffeine device to the commercial market. For just three spritz VAE Energy Spray can deliver the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee. The idea behind the spray is to help control your caffeine intake and replace coffee drinks with excess sugars and calories. Draper Associates led the investment, and other participants included Midnight Venture Partners and Cartograph Ventures.

Fable Foods announces Series A round

Australian startup Fable Foods has announced an $8.5 million Series A round led by Singaporean venture firm K3. Fable Foods uses mushrooms to create its plant-based meat and will next month launch its Fable mushroom burger slider patties at STK Steakhouse chain locations. Other participants in this funding round included Greg Creed, Peter Singer and SaladStop! founders Frantz Braha and Adrien Desbaillets. Existing investors Blackbird, AgFiunder, Aera VC, Osher Günsberg and Audrey Griffen also returned for the round.

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.

Investors dash to new seltzer brand

Dash Water recently announced the completion of an £8.7 million funding round. The company makes zero-sugar, zero-calorie seltzer flavored with upcycled ‘wonky’ fruit and vegetables —as co-founder Alex Wright calls them. Private equity firm Beringea led the Series A round with participation from Irish rugby captain Johnny Sexton, Dash chairman David Milner and others. Seltzer drinks have seen great success in the U.S. Dash Water hopes to replicate that across the pond. The new funding will enter Dash into new European markets and increase its presence in Australia. The investment will also support growth, expansion, research and development

Riding the plant-based seafood wave

After raising $12 million in seed funding New School Foods is announcing the launch of its first product: a plant-based, whole-cut salmon fillet that closely mirrors the real thing. New School Foods has structured the plant fibers to resemble those of a raw salmon’s muscle to replicate that same bite and mouth feel. The investment for the company came from Lever VC, Blue Horizon, Hatch, Good Startup, Alwyn Capital, and Canadian government grants.

Meati Foods scales big

Meati Foods creates whole cuts of meat made from mycelium (structural fiber of mushrooms) and is making significant strides with the recent opening of its 100,000-square-foot production facility and a new $22 million extension round. This is an exciting new phase for Meati because, with the new facility, they can grow/harvest mycelium under the same roof that they produce products. The extension round was led by Revolution Growth with participation from Rockefeller Capital, bringing Meati Foods’ total funding to over $250 million..

Lots of love for this luxury chocolate brand

Venture capital investor Richard Koch has funded a $4.25 million investment into Love Cocoa. James Cadbury established the luxury chocolate brand (yes, of that Cadbury), including the vegan oat milk chocolate brand H!P Chocolate. The new funds will be used to grow Love Cocoa’s senior management team and open its first brick-and-mortar store. With the new support from Koch, Cadbury hopes to take Love Cocoa from a challenger brand to a chocolate industry powerhouse.

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Anne Hathaway invests in vegan eggs

Anne Hathaway has invested in the vegan egg food technology company The EVERY Co. The actress invested an undisclosed amount, but the company’s funding now totals more than $230 million to date. With the recent avian flu outbreak and resulting egg shortage, attention on future-proofing eggs is greater than ever. EVERY uses precision fermentation to create its proteins in partnership with ZX Venture’s BioBrew. Other investors besides Hathaway include McWin Food Systems Fund, Temasek, TO Ventures, Grosvenor, ZX Ventures and more.

Better for you food coloring

Michroma wants to bring more natural and plant-based options to food coloring by using precision fermentation of fungi. Its first product, Red+, will replace the red colorant Red 40 and is temperature resistant. Red+ will be an excellent option for adding color to cultivated meat. Michroma has secured $6.4 million in seed financing led by Supply Change Capital. The round also included participation from both existing and new investors giving the company a total of $7.4 million in venture capital.

Online grocer Diferente secures $3M investment

Diferente brings fresh organic produce to remote Brazilians whose journey to a traditional grocery store may have limited transportation options and long distances to travel. Diferente aims to make healthy food more accessible while cutting down on 30% of the imperfect food typically thrown away by grocery stores. The produce from Diferente is sourced directly from farmers. Diferente gives customers customizable delivery options and uses an algorithm to tailor ideal baskets. In turn, that data can also be shared with the farmers so they can plan their crops based on what’s popular. Caravela Capital led the latest round with participation from Collaborative Fund, South Ventures and Valor Siren Ventures. Diferente raised $4.4 million in seed funding last year, bringing its total capital to $7.4 million to date.

Funding for broccoli on the upp

A strong investment for strong brains

Parable has launched its first product, a brain health supplement called Daily, after raising $2.75 million in seed funding. M13 and Break Trail Ventures led the round. Brain health is becoming a number one priority for consumers who want to take care of their cognitive, neural and mental health with the same care they do for the rest of their physical body. Daily is a science-baked supplement packed with eight ingredients (curcumin, lemon balm, ginseng, phosphatidylserine, green tea extract, and B vitamins 6, 9, and 12) pinpointed by neuroscientists as significantly beneficial to the brain.

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.

Beneo sizzles a 14% stake in Grillido

Beneo recently announced that it is acquiring a 14% stake in meat replacement/alternative startup Grillido. The acquisition will give Beneo access to Grillido’s e-commerce platform for faster and direct access to consumer feedback. In addition, Beneo will use the data to faster develop ingredients and product solutions for the plant-based meat market.

New growth in food tech to start the new year

Microbiome company BIOHM recently raised $7.5 million to accelerate research, product development, and artificial intelligence capabilities. Middleland Capital’s VTC Ventures led the oversubscribed round with participation from Felton Group, LLC, Jobs Ohio Growth Capital Fund, Aztec Capital Management LLC, Cleveland Life Science Advisors, Valley Growth Ventures, LLC, JumpStart-UH (Healthcare Collaboration Fund) and more. The new funding will help BIOHM remain a leading microbiome innovation partner to food, beverage and dietary supplement companies.

Multus Biotechnology raises $9.5M Series A Round

Multus Biotechnology, a U.K.-based cellular agriculture startup, recently raised $9.5 million in funding in a Series A Round led by Mandi Ventures with participation from SOSV, Big Idea Ventures, SynBioVen and Asahi Kasei Corp. The new financing will accelerate product development in advanced growth media formulations and food-grade raw materials. The Series A Round also raised capital to build a new U.K. production facility for food-safe growth formulations and cultivated meat ingredients.

ModifyHealth announces $10M Series B Round

ModifyHealth is a food-as-medicine platform that provides medically tailored meals. The latest funding round was led by RC Capital with participation from existing investor Nashville Capital Network. The new $10 million funding will help accelerate growth and further expand its offerings nationwide.

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Solabia acquires majority stake in BioActor

French active ingredients maker has purchased a majority stake in nutraceuticals ingredients firm BioActor. BioActor develops polyphenols extracted from fruits and plants for use in supplements. This new investment will expand Solabia’s production capabilities and help support research and development.

Excitement for new sustainable protein ingredients startup

ICL Planet Startup Hub, an agrifood innovation and investment platform, invested €2.75 million in the startup Arkeon. Arkeon sustainably creates customizable protein ingredients by capturing greenhouse gas and converting it into the 20 proteinogenic amino acids vital to human nutrition. The alternative proteins are thus carbon negative and classified as clean-label functional ingredients. In addition, Arkeon will now have access to ICL’s premium research and development labs and production facilities.

Pronghorn says hello to Hella Cocktail Co

Pronghorn, an incubator initiative to expand diversity in the alcohol industry, has announced its recent capital investment in Hella Cocktail Co. The capital also will provide Hella with access to Pronghorn’s program with industry experts and consulting services to help accelerate growth. Hella’s CEO, Jomaree Pinkard, will also transition to Pronghorn’s new CEO and managing director.

From food waste to food containers

Singapore-based startup Alterpacks uses food waste—mainly spent grains, a byproduct of beer manufacturing—as raw materials to create food containers. These containers, which can be molded into different shapes, are microwavable, freezable and home compostable. The startup recently raised $1 million in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Plug and Play APAC and Seed Capital, with participation from Earth Venture Capital and Alice Foo. Alterpacks will use the new funding for commercialization and bring production and supply to new markets such as Asia, Australia and Europe.

Raining funds for The Rainforest Company

German food tech company The Rainforest Company has raised nearly €36 million in capital. The rapidly growing healthy and sustainable foods D2C company creates vegan products based on the açai berry. In addition, The Rainforest Company works with farmers to develop sustainable agriculture practices and protect the rainforest. The latest round was led by Kaltroco, with participation from Futury Capital, Corecam and Green Generation Fund.

No Meat Factory raises $42M

Plant-based alternative protein manufacturer, No Meat Factory, has recently closed a Series B round led by Tengelmann Growth Partners, with participation from existing investor Emil Capital Partners. The new $42 million funding will be used to expand production and manufacturing capacity across North America and into the global market. The company also plans to use its new BRC-certified facilities in British Columbia Plant-based alternative protein manufacturer, 

New functional tea brand raises $6.7M

The Ryl Company is launching a line of functional ready-to-drink canned teas across the Northeast in select Wegmans, Whole Foods Markets and Wakefern stores. The launch comes after raising $6.7 million in funding. The funds will be used for new product development. The brand is launching with four flavors to start and plans to be sold in Sprouts Farmers Markets nationwide by March.

Hometown Food Company acquires Birch Benders

Hometown Food Company is expanding its portfolio of American baking brands with its acquisition of Birch Benders. Birch Benders creates keto, paleo and organic waffle/pancaking mixes and other baking products. Hometown Food Company is acquiring Birch Benders from Sovos Brands, Inc., and the transaction terms were not disclosed.

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.