Eclipse Foods, the chief in sustainable, plant-based dairy merchandise which might be indistinguishable from standard dairy, declares a Series B funding spherical of over $40 million led by Sozo Ventures with participation from main funds, together with Forerunner Ventures, Initialized Capital, Gaingels, and KBW Ventures. With the newest spherical of funding, Eclipse has raised over $60 million so far with traders together with Seth Goldman, the Chairman of Beyond Meat and Founder of Honest Tea; Alexis Ohanian, the Founder of Reddit; Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed, inexperienced tech enterprise capitalist; and Y Combinator, the world’s prime tech accelerator. The new funding will gasoline the speedy progress of the enterprise in retail and meals service, speed up R&D on Eclipse’s proprietary plant-based dairy platform, construct the model’s world-class crew, and drive consciousness for Eclipse because the world’s first true dairy alternative.
“The primary cause shoppers keep away from plant-based dairy is style. As self-proclaimed ice cream lovers, our crew at Sozo Ventures acknowledged that Eclipse’s ice cream is in a league of its personal after only one chew,” mentioned Bob Roe, Vice President of Narrative Development at Sozo Ventures. “70% of the world’s inhabitants is lactose illiberal and with the choice protein house projected to develop to $1.4 trillion by 2050, Eclipse is positioned to fully remodel the dairy trade with its proprietary plant-based dairy platform.”
The Oakland-based model was co-founded in 2019 by James Beard-nominated chef, Thomas Bowman, and various protein knowledgeable, Aylon Steinhart, with the mission to create a extra sustainable, wholesome and humane meals system. Since then, Eclipse has scaled sooner and extra effectively than opponents within the house, because of its plant-based dairy platform which makes use of a mix of non-GMO vegetation, together with cassava, corn, and potato, to create nearly any plant-based dairy product, from cheeses to spreads to desserts, that replicate the style, texture and performance of conventional dairy.
“With 10 billion individuals to feed by 2050, we acknowledged that world diets should change,” mentioned Aylon Steinhart, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Eclipse Foods. “Consumers need greater than only a dairy various like almond milk—they need a real alternative. Our plant-based dairy platform makes use of micelles (the microscopic magic of milk) to create the alternative merchandise that buyers have been craving, and our progress over the past three years is a testomony to that.”
Year over 12 months, Eclipse has grown its retail presence by 2100%, with Whole Foods Market, Albertsons, Vons, GoPuff and plenty of different retailers stocking its pints. The model can also be dramatically increasing its meals service partnerships, working with eating places, burger chains, ice cream retailers, stadiums, and extra. Eclipse most just lately introduced its partnership with Smashburger, launching the primary nationally accessible non-dairy milkshakes at a fast-casual restaurant chain and the primary plant-based menu merchandise for the restaurant. To study extra about Eclipse and keep knowledgeable concerning the model’s newest information, improvements, and extra, please go to eclipsefoods.com and comply with alongside on social at @eclipsefoods.