Participated · Equity · Nov 2024

Loki Foods is developing a whole-cut plant-based cod fillet analog with a prototype built on a protein foundation containing vitamins and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The company aims to improve taste, cookability, texture and nutrition to attract consumers away from conventional seafood and grow the alt-seafood market. Loki received funding to support development of its cod analog prototype. Sustainable Food Ventures highlighted the company’s team, technology and Iceland location as enabling production of alternative proteins using renewable energy and pristine Icelandic water. CEO and co-founder Chris McClure emphasized the nutritional composition of the prototype and the company’s mission to accelerate removal of marine life from the supply chain. The business is based in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Participated · Equity · May 2024

Peruvian Veef, founded by Karina Zegarra, has developed a range of 11 plant-based products inspired by Latin American cuisine, including beef, chicken, cold-cuts and traditional Peruvian dishes like anticucho and grilled chicken. The company focuses on affordability, pricing its products at less than half the cost of some imported alternatives. Its offerings use proprietary production processes and unique texturing methods to improve texture and nutritional quality without relying on complex machinery, enabling consistent, scalable production. Peruvian Veef has established distribution in over 70 stores and leads sales at Peru’s specialty chain Organa. The company plans to use the new funds to expand foodservice and retail operations across Peru and into Chile, Colombia and Mexico. In addition to private investment, Peruvian Veef also received a non-dilutive government grant through the Startup Peru competition by ProInnovate Peru. Lima-based Peruvian Veef was founded in 2020 to develop plant-based meat products inspired by Peruvian flavors and designed to deliver meat-like textures and strong nutritional profiles. The company has launched 12 products to date, including vegan nuggets, plant-based anticuchos, and four burger variants (Chicken Vurger, Crispy Chicken Vurger, Meat Vurger, and a pea-based Real Vurger). Most products use soy and/or wheat, while the Real Vurger is pea-based to serve celiacs and those with soy allergies. Peruvian Veef already has retail distribution in more than 60 points of sale and reports newly secured supermarket contacts that should enable significant scaling. The company recently received $90K in angel funding, including investment from Ryan Bethencourt at Sustainable Food Ventures. It is currently raising a $400K pre-seed round to help solidify its position as Peru’s leading alternative-protein company by 2024. Customers can also order directly from the company website.

Participated · Seed · May 2023

Farmless develops alternative proteins using a fermentation process that uses a liquid feedstock made from carbon dioxide, hydrogen, nitrogen and renewable energy instead of sugar. The company says this approach can produce proteins with up to 5,000x less land use than beef and allows production where energy is most sustainable and affordable. Farmless has built a team of eight, a small-scale R&D facility, and discovered a microorganism it can ferment into different food applications. The new capital will be used to build a pilot brewery in Amsterdam, advance fermentation technology, hire staff, pursue regulatory approval, and set up a test kitchen. The company, founded by Adnan Oner in 2021, is working toward commercialization and partnerships with food companies to use its protein as an ingredient. The seed round closed at an undisclosed valuation and follows a €1.2M pre-seed round seven months earlier. Farmless develops proteins via a fermentation platform that uses a liquid feedstock made from CO2, hydrogen and renewable energy rather than sugar or traditional agriculture. The company says its process requires 1/500th the land of animal protein and 10–25x less land than other plant-based proteins. CEO Adnan Oner says the startup has found microbes that taste and act like animal proteins and is developing an amino acid–complete, high-functionality protein prototype. Farmless raised a €1.2 million pre-seed equity round to set up a lab, build a fermentation and food-science team, and advance its initial product development. Next steps include moving to larger fermentation vessels, building supply chains, navigating regulatory approval, and bringing products to market with partners. The team frames the technology as a route to end factory farming, rewild land, and draw down carbon at planetary scale, while noting regulatory and financing challenges ahead.

Participated · Equity · May 2023

Sobo Foods makes plant-based frozen dumplings inspired by Asian comfort food, launching with three flavors: Japanese-inspired curry potato, Chinese-inspired pork & chive, and Korean-inspired kimchi & mushroom. Its dumplings are manufactured at the KitchenTown food innovation hub in San Mateo. Founders Eric Wu (cofounder of Gainful) and Adam Yee (former Motif FoodWorks scientist and The Better Meat Co technical cofounder) say they developed a plant-based gelatin substitute to improve juiciness and have submitted a patent application for related IP. The brand positions itself as a better-for-you alternative to existing frozen Asian products, avoiding high sodium, artificial colors/flavors and stereotypical branding. Financially, Sobo emerged from stealth with $1 million in backing from angels and an institutional investor. For 2023 the company is pursuing a slow, grassroots Bay Area rollout—hand-delivery, local events, farmers markets, chef collaborations and possible community grocery placements—to iterate product-market fit before wider expansion.

Participated · Seed · Mar 2023

Myodenovo develops proprietary, patent-pending plant-based scaffold technology and an automated bioreactor process to produce thick, whole-cut cultivated meats, beginning with filet mignon. The company says its end products will be roughly 90% cells to deliver a realistic meat experience and has built a small, bite-size prototype filet. Founder George Engelmayr is a biomedical engineer with regenerative-medicine experience and prior roles at Memphis Meats (UPSIDE Foods) and Mission Barns. Myodenovo plans to grow a larger medallion for a tasting later this year and aims to raise $2 million in a pre-seed round within the next 18 months. The startup will use initial funding for general corporate expenses and operations as it scales its scaffold and bioreactor processes. The company is based in North Carolina, USA.