Abhay Rangan’s Post

🌱💰 VOYAGE FOODS SECURES $55M & PARTNERS WITH CARGILL Voyage Foods, which says it makes the “most sustainable” chocolate on the market, has closed a sizeable Series A+ investment round totalling $55M. This includes the $22M the company had announced in January, taking its total raised to $94M. The latest financing round was led by Level One Fund and Horizons Ventures, with SOSV, Nimble Partners, LLC and Collaborative Fund also participating. James Stewart, founding partner at Level One, said Voyage Foods had “set a new standard for commercialisation in the food tech space” by producing substitutes of essential ingredients that are both “extremely cost-competitive against, and more sustainable than” their conventional counterparts. The funding announcement comes a month after the startup penned an exclusive commercial deal with agricultural giant Cargill, the largest privately held company in the US. The partnership will see the latter be a global B2B distributor for Voyage Foods’ allergen-free, climate-friendly ingredients for use in a variety of applications. Anne Mertens-Hoyng, Cargill’s category director of chocolate confectionery and ice cream, told Bloomberg that Voyage Foods “offers more stable pricing and reliance on raw materials that are less subject to market volatility”. Chocolate prices have reached an all-time high (up by 250% over last year), with cocoa costing $10,000 per tonne in March. Cargill is a major player in the aconfectionery business, with its portfolio including chocolate, coatings and fillings, starches and sweeteners, and oils and fats for bakery, ice cream and chocolate categories. But with access to Voyage Foods’ cocoa-free chocolates and nut-free peanut and hazelnut butters, these can now be complemented with a broader range of ingredient solutions that are vegan-friendly and free from nuts. The cocoa-free chocolate world is heating up, with WNWN Food Labs (UK), Planet A Foods' ChoViva (Germany) and Foreverland Food (Italy) all working on such products. As is the beanless coffee space – something Voyage Foods also offers for its foodservice clients – with players like Atomo Coffee (US), Northern Wonder - Coffee Free Coffee (Netherlands) and Prefer | bean-free coffee (Singapore). Voyage Foods’ products are available at 1,400 retail locations, including at Walmart stores nationwide, and Voyage Foods CEO Adam Maxwell said the company’s sales are increasing every month. And in March, Colorado-based Rudi's Rocky Mountain Bakery announced it will launch PB&J sandwiches using its gluten-free bread and Voyage Foods’ peanut-free butter – a sustainable, allergen-friendly take on JM Smucker’s Uncrustables. #GreenQueen #altprotein #futurefoods #foodtech #sustainability #foodsystems

We extend our heartfelt appreciation to Mr. Sanjay Sethi and the entire team at the Plant Based Foods Industry Association (PBFIA) for organising the 4th Grand Convention, the "India Plant Based Foods Show," during Aahar, India’s largest food and beverage exhibition. We are honoured and grateful for the recognition of Nourish You India One Good [Acquired by Nourish You]'s contribution to the industry as a Founder Member of this prestigious event. We are delighted and honoured to have had our Co-Founder, Mr. Krishna Reddy, participate as a panellist alongside eminent thought leaders such as Mr. Ajay Kakra of JU Agri Sciences Pvt. Ltd., Mr. Karan Mehta of Green Frontier Capital, Mr. Rattan Deep of Krystal Ventures Studio, Mr. Sandeep Devgan of Shaka Harry, and moderated by Mr. Rajesh Srivastava of Prowess Advisors . Mr. Krishna Reddy shared insights on the topic "Capitalising growth: Insights from Investors," discussing global and local trends, challenges, and the role of consolidation via M&A as a tool to strengthen unit economics. He highlighted Nourish You's acquisition of One Good [Acquired by Nourish You] as a case study, emphasising the importance of innovation in creating affordable and tasty vegan products. The India Plant Based Foods Show provided a platform for industry leaders to come together, share knowledge, and collaborate towards a sustainable future. We look forward to continuing our journey of innovation and growth, driving positive change in the plant-based foods industry. #plantbasedfoods #innovation #sustainability #collaboration #aahar2024 #NourishYouOneGood  Krishna Reddy Sowmya Reddy Rakesh Kilaru S D Venkataramana Yarlagadda Akhila Prachi Jain Manish Lal Chand Abhay Rangan Dhivakar Sathyamurthy Payal Shah Saurabh Shah Aishwarya Aila Rohit Chennamaneni Nikhil Kamath  Janardhana Rao. Y Abhijeet Pai  Rakesh Reddy Vijay Kumar Thilak Vangala

❗️🎉 🚀 CULTIVATED MEAT MERGER: Umami Bioworks and Shiok Meats have announced they are merging! In a major shift in the cultivated seafood space, Singaporean startups Umami Bioworks and Shiok Meats have announced plans to merge. Once finalised, Umami Bioworks CEO Mihir Pershad will lead the combined entity, and Shiok Meats CEO Sandhya Sriram, PhD Sriram will exit the company. The combined entity will retain the Umami Bioworks name and be led by existing CEO Mihir Pershad, while the leadership will explore how best to leverage the Shiok Meats brand – which will be retained – in the near future. Green Queen understands that Shiok Meats co-founder and CEO Sandhya Sriram will leave the company after six years at the helm. As for other employees, they will be joining the Umami Bioworks team to support its work on the development of crustacean cell lines and media. The impending merger is a major development in the cultivated seafood industry, with two of the most well-known companies joining forces at a time when cultivated meat is making progress with regulation and commercialisation. Umami Bioworks itself began submitting its first regulatory dossiers and signed initial customers for its production facilities in Q4 2023. “We are currently actively engaged with multiple regulators worldwide and are planning several regulatory dossier submissions this year. The company – whose board of directors will include global seafood investment leaders Hatch Blue and Aqua-Spark – intends to continue its ongoing product development with strategic partners for cultivated eel, grouper fish, and pet treats, which will be its lead priorities for market entry. Umami Bioworks will follow a similar approach for additional products and species, including crustaceans, which have been the focus of Shiok Meats’ work. “Cultivated seafood as a sector is now on the cusp of commercialisation and initial scale-up,” Pershad told Green Queen. “We felt it was a good time to take a more strategic look at how the industry may evolve in the next few years and how we could position the company to be the partner of choice for incumbents looking to adopt a more sustainable production technology. The merger with Shiok Meats stood out as an opportunity to bring together the IP, resources, and commercial progress of two pioneers in the sector to establish a leading platform for cultivated seafood.” In an exclusive conversation with Green Queen, Sriram – who is still working with Umami Bioworks on a smooth transition and handover – outlined that in a novel industry like cultivated meat, “consolidation is progress”, stating: “For Shiok Meats, it was the right time to do an M&A with the shift in the alternative protein industry and the merger was put in place.” She added that her hope was that the merged company “becomes the leading global cultivated seafood platform”. #cultivatedmeat #seafood #foodtech #futurefood #singapore #food #climate

We're excited to showcase the best of nourishment and sustainability at the international food & hospitality fair from March 7th to March 11th at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. Please stop by and join us as we spotlight the power of delicious, wholesome, plant-based foods for everyone to try! Krishna Reddy Rakesh Kilaru Yarlagadda Akhila Payal Shah Prachi Jain Aishwarya Aila Katelyn Overland Abhay Rangan Dhivakar Sathyamurthy #AAHAR2024