Los Angeles is adding another player to its roster of packaged health food startups.
Irvine-based Longève Brands, a startup selling fake meat crumbles made of pea protein, closed a $5 million seed round Wednesday led by Wavemaker Partners and Springboard. The company's line of faux-meat products includes "Protein Crumbles" that resemble ground meat and can sit on pantry shelves instead of needing refrigeration.
<p>Longève was co-founded in 2020 by Cie, a California-based venture studio whose portfolio includes Titan School Solutions, a software for schools to track food inventory. It <a href="https://dot.la/titan-school-solutions-2648851980.html" target="_blank">was acquired by LINQ in November</a> for $75 million. </p><p>Unlike others in the meat replacement consumer goods market, Longève Brands CEO Douglas Kantner said that his product is less processed and preservative-free. </p><p>The plant-based meat market was worth $939 million in 2019, up 18% from the year before, <a href="https://www.gfi.org/marketresearch" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">according to the Good Food Institute, a nonprofit promoting alternatives to meat and dairy</a>.</p><p>The market has gained momentum in recent years after Impossible Foods and El Segundo-based Beyond Meat were picked up by fast food chains like Starbucks, Carls Jr. and others. But Kantner doesn't see those brands as competitors because "they are making burgers and sausages. We are providing a shelf-stable, clean label product that can be used in a variety of dishes."</p><p>"Our real competitor is meat from animals," Kantner added. </p><p>Longève will use the funding to build brand awareness, hire and add more plant-based foods to their line of products, which are stocked in U.S. retailers Erewhon and HEB and in grocery stores across Mexico, Australia, Southeast Asia and the United Arab Emirates. It finds a natural home in Southern California, a hub for nutrition consumer packaged goods — from meatless burger brand Beyond Meat in El Segundo to downtown's Califia Farms. </p><p>"If your recipe calls for one pound of ground beef, you take three ounces of this stuff, reconstitute it with water and it kind of poofs up," Cie co-founder and CEO Anderee Berengian said. "It's ready to take on the flavor profile of whatever spices and ingredients that the chef wants to add." </p><p>RezVen Partners and Alumni Ventures Group also participated in the round. </p>
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Los Angeles-based Muniq, a startup selling prebiotic nutritional shakes, closed an $8.2 million Series A round Tuesday led by Alpha Edison and Acre Ventures Partners.
The direct-to-consumer company, which does business as Uplifting Results Labs, launched its first line in May of 2020.
<p>It was founded by CEO Marc Washington, the former chief financial officer at The Wonderful Company — which owns brands like FIJI Water and POM Wonderful — and former chief executive at supplement company Irwin Naturals. </p><p>Muniq sells itself as a food tech company promoting a healthy gut health microbiome with a line of prebiotic shakes. Washington said many of his customers have diabetes or other chronic conditions. Others are just looking to lose weight. </p><p>"I think that over the next five to 10 years gut health will continue to be at the forefront of health and wellness," he said. "Especially when you look at the conditions we're trying to address, almost all of them have had a disproportionate effect on minority communities. As a Black founder, it's something that I'm personally passionate about." </p><p>Washington will use the funds to build his team and conduct more clinical research. His immediate goal is to continue building an online presence and eventually get the products into brick-and-mortar stores. </p><p>The raise marks Muniq's second round of funding following a $5 million seed round led by The Production Board, a San Francisco incubator where Washington began his company. </p>
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The Santa Monica-based food and travel network Tastemade has acquired ChefsFeed, a content platform for professional cooks to share recipes and restaurant reviews, often in collaboration with brands. Terms of the cash and stock deal were undisclosed.
The purchase gives Tastemade access to ChefsFeed's 40 million viewers and network of 6,000-plus chefs to fill its content pipeline.
"They will move the needle for us in terms of access to talent and expertise that we can feature in original programming and content," said Tastemade chief executive Larry Fitzgibbon.
<p>It also gives the chefs an opportunity to cash in on foodie culture and offers some relief to those whose income has been crimped during the pandemic. </p><p>About 300 million people watch Tastemade's content every month across social, pay-TV and streaming platforms, according to the company. </p><p>ChefsFeed, based in the Bay Area, produces content featuring its community of professional chefs. In 2019, the company launched an "experiences" segment, wherein its chefs host ticketed events. Since the pandemic set in, that has expanded into livestreaming.</p><p>ChefsFeed will continue as a standalone product, and will now start to feed into Tastemade's distribution channels. </p><p>ChefsFeed chief executive Rich Maggiotto will report to Fitzgibbon. </p><p>"We wanted to find more ways for our chefs to make more money and to identify more ways to work with brands," said Maggiotto. "It's a natural fit in terms of getting more of our talent and expert community into shows that Tastemade has." </p><p>Jumoke Jackson, one of ChefsFeed's chefs, found a lifeline in the livestreaming platform as the restaurant industry reeled amid the pandemic. </p><p>"When COVID-19 hit, I lost most of my revenue stream as a chef," Jackson said in a statement. "I began using ChefsFeed Experiences to host livestream classes and it gave me the insight to expand my business model, spurring a ton of creative thought. I'm excited about Tastemade acquiring them and the possibilities to come!"</p><p>Maggiotto also highlighted the opportunity for ChefsFeed to expand beyond North America. Tastemade's content is available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, the U.K., three German-speaking markets and, as of this week, Brazil. </p><p>Eleven of ChefsFeed's 14 employees will be joining Tastemade. Maggiotto will become the new head of platform on the product and engineering side. </p><p><em>Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect ChefsFeed's accurate viewership numbers.</em></p>
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