NEW TECH FOODS

Alt-dairy start-up Climax Foods has rebranded to Bettani Farms; has appointed former Califia Farms CFO, Sandeep Patel, as CEO and chairman; and has raised $6.5 million in Series A funding.

Bettani, based in California, US, has developed a protein-rich, non-GMO ingredient platform that is also free from dairy, soy and nuts, for use in plant-based cheese products.

Its proprietary protein ingredient, Caseed, is made from regenerative seed crops and mimics the functionality and mouthfeel of dairy casein while remaining 100% plant-based and free from common allergens.

According to Bettani, the ingredient’s creamy texture, neutral flavour profile and white colour make it ideally suited for developing a range of protein-rich, dairy-free alternative to popular cheeses like mozzarella, feta, goat’s cheese, cream cheese, brie and blue. It can offer 12-20g of protein per 100g of cheese.

Additionally, the start-up said its natural, farm-sourced ingredient can provide a more cost competitive alternative to fermentation-based casein equivalents.

The funding round was led by S2G Investments, a multi-stage investment firm focused on scaling solutions across food and agriculture, energy and oceans. It also saw participation from new and existing investors including At One Ventures, Gratitude Railroad, Manta Ray Ventures and Toba Capital.

New CEO Patel joins Bettani from Califia Farms, with other previous experience including a role as president and CFO of PopSockets.

He also brings extensive industry experience across packaged food, agriculture, consumer products and sustainable technologies from his time as a managing director at Goldman Sachs and Barclays, where he advised food industry leaders, entrepreneurs and investors.

Under his leadership, Bettani will focus on commercialising Caseed and Caseed-powered cheeses in partnership with frozen food makers, foodservice operators and existing dairy-free cheese brands seeking to improve their formulations.

Patel commented: “Bettani is poised to do for pizza what oat milk has done for coffee. Just as oat won coffee over the last five years with its superior taste, mouthfeel, performance and allergen profile, our Caseed-powered cheeses deliver the melt, stretch, texture and flavour consumers crave in pizza and other hot foods – without the allergens and high carbon footprint of dairy.”

Sanjeev Krishnan, managing partner at S2G, said: “As Bettani starts this new chapter, we believe it’s clear the company has the strong leadership and vision needed to make protein-rich, dairy-free cheeses commonplace”.

“We’re proud to continue to support Bettani and the commercialisation of its technology at a critical time when demand for protein-rich, allergen-free and more sustainable food products is increasing.”