Voyage Foods Closes on $36M Series A to “Future-Proof” Classic Foods

May 6, 2022

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Let’s face it, some of our most beloved foods are far from sustainable. Climate change, rising costs, ethics issues associated with production and processing, and health issues plague many of our go-to favorites like chocolate, or coffee. In some cases, the challenges even put the future existence of these foods at risk.

But as technologies advance, this doesn’t always have to be the case.

California-based food tech startup Voyage Foods has closed on a $36 million Series A led by funds managed by UBS O’Connor and Level One Fund, and including Horizons Ventures, SOSV’s Indie Bio, and Social Impact Capital, bringing total funding to-date to $41.7 million. 

Using cutting-edge technologies, Voyage Foods stated that it has the unique ability to archive flavors. Given this ability, and through its proprietary platform, the company uses a combination of whole, natural ingredients that are sustainably produced to make classic foods that are molecularly similar to their original counterparts – but without sacrificing the flavor or experience that consumers are familiar with. 

The company’s three proprietary products -peanut-free spread, cacao-free chocolate, and coffee without the beans – are also all comparable in price to traditional coffee, peanut butter, and chocolate, demonstrating that cutting-edge solutions that have the power to carry foods into the future in a sustainable way don’t necessarily mean higher costs.

“At Voyage, we’re future-proofing time-tested favorite foods so that we can enjoy them for years to come without having to worry about their impact on the environment and unjust labor customs that contributed to making them,” said Adam Maxwell, CEO, Voyage Foods.

“We’re thrilled to be working with dynamic investors who are committed to helping us create delicious versions of traditionally unsustainable food products that won’t be limited by climate change, humanitarian concerns, or immunological issues.”

Indeed, as consumers demand accountability within their food supply chains, Voyage Foods now stands at the forefront of the nascent ethical food market, which is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 5.8 percent, to grow from a value of $574.42 billion in 2021 to $727.86 billion in 2025. 

Coffee plantations have long been at the mercy of climate change, causing issues that have only been compounded by soaring freight costs due to COVID-19, resulting in hikes in retail prices. In the 12 months up to August 2021, Arabica coffee prices on the ICE Futures exchange doubled after Brazil experienced its worst drought in 91 years.

Meanwhile, Voyage Foods points out that cocoa and chocolate have some of the largest water footprints of any crops, with cocoa butter at 34,000 liters per kilogram, cocoa mass at 24,000 liters per kilogram, and chocolate at 17,196 liters per kilogram. These crops are also notorious for being connected with child and slave labor being used in their cultivation.

Peanut butter has its own issues, as dangerous and even deadly peanut allergies now affect more than 6.1 million Americans, or approximately 2 percent of the population, and the numbers keep rising in both children and adults.

Led by a team of esteemed food scientists, including the company CEO Adam Maxwell, Voyage Foods’ has the ability to make products that will not only mitigate these issues, but can form a foundation for a new just food system while also preserving some of the world’s most popular foods. 

“Voyage’s ability to deliver true 1:1 replacements for some of the world’s most important food products is a feat unmatched by most food tech companies,” said Kevin Russell, CIO, UBS O’Connor. “Compared to incumbent products this is done at a superior cost and with a significantly reduced environmental impact, and has the potential to transform the food system in a way that benefits all stakeholders.”

Looking to the future, Voyage Foods stated that it envisions a combination of retail and B2B partnerships, with a plan to possibly incorporate its products into some of the major food manufacturers to help foster their transition to a more environmentally conscious and equitable food supply.

In the near future, the company’s first product – its peanut-free spread – will be launched in select retail stores and online in Q2, to be followed by its cacao-free chocolate, which will launch as an ingredient with a commercial partner in Q3. 

 

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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