Ripple Foods, which uses protein from yellow peas to make plant-based dairy alternatives, this week secured a US$60 million Series E funding round to expand into new product categories.
Berkeley-based Ripple’s existing products include plant-based milk, protein shakes, half & half, and frozen desserts. The company says the recipes it has created using peas instead of nuts and oats like other alt-milk brands results in healthier products with less sugar and fat.
“Alternative dairy options including almond, cashew, and oat boast nutrition panels that pale in comparison to the protein-packed offerings from Ripple,” the company said in a statement announcing its fresh funding round.
“Setting a higher standard beyond grams of protein, Ripple also has half the sugar of dairy milk and 50 per cent more calcium.”
Producing Ripple’s alt-dairy products requires six times less water to extract protein than almond milk, a factor the company submits puts the planet first in terms of eco-conscious manufacturing and production practices.
“Ripple’s growth is outpacing the category threefold, and we are well-positioned to further accelerate that growth,” said Laura Flanagan, CEO of Ripple Foods.
The alt-milk category grew by around 6 per cent last year, but Ripple’s growth soared 20 per cent over the same time.
“This capital raise will enable us to accelerate innovation and growth across product categories, and expand into new channels and global markets,” said Flanagan. It allows us to further achieve our mission of making plant-based foods that are better for people, and better for the planet, on an even larger scale.”
The new funding round was led by Rage Capital, Ajax Strategies, and S2G Ventures, along with additional key investors including OurCrowd, GV, Prelude Ventures, Euclidean, Fall Line Capital, and Tao Capital Partners.
“Our investment with Ripple supports its continued growth and success in the milk aisle and its upcoming innovation in new product categories,” said Chuck Templeton, MD of S2G Ventures. “Ripple is a clear leader in plant-based dairy alternatives, and we are excited to support this team of proven industry veterans as they continue to scale the business.”
Research predicts the alt-milk market will treble in size within 10 years.
Gabriel Ruimy, Rage Capital’s managing partner, said there are very few products in the plant-based arena that offer consumers a no-compromise proposition like Ripple: great taste, great nutrition and great for the environment.
“There is a huge demand for high-quality Ripple products around the world, and we look forward to helping Ripple enter new markets as they become the go-to alternative to dairy for consumers everywhere.”
