Nourish Ingredients announces US$28.6 million in Series A funding

Nourish Ingredients has announced that it has raised US$28.6 million in a Series A funding round led by Horizons Ventures and supported by investors that include Main Sequence Ventures and Hostplus.

"A heartfelt thank you firstly to our investors, who shared our vision and gave us their trust, and to our research partners and collaborators from across the globe for being on this journey with Nourish," enthused James Petrie, CEO of Nourish Ingredients. "And thank you also to my incredible team, who have shown what hard work, passion, and an innovative mindset can deliver."

Petrie, who is one of more than 50 speakers already announced for The Future of Protein Production Summit next February, said the funding will allow the company to fast-track and scale production and product development, and expand its capabilities, including its team. "It will also help us achieve our vision for our fats to be part of the tastiest alternative proteins on the planet, and push the boundaries of the alt-protein taste and experience into new spaces.

"We’ve made a significant breakthrough in the way people will taste and experience alternative proteins," Petrie continued. "At Nourish, through science and the process of precision fermentation, we build real animal fats that make alternative proteins cook, smell, and taste as delicious as the real thing, but animal free."

How did they do it ? "We zeroed in on the differences between plant and animal foods to identify the most potent fats and oils missing in the alternative protein space; the ingredients that make Wagyu steak so special, and ice cream so irresistible. Our team then engineered proprietary precision fermentation strains that can manufacture these potent fat molecules at scale and give alternative proteins an authentic taste and experience, animal-free."

This is only the beginning, according to Petrie. "We believe we are only in the infancy of how big the plant-based and alternative proteins market can really become, and we are excited about the potential of our fats to make a transformative impact on their products.