Stockeld Dreamery is so passionate about cheese that it raised $20M for it to be made from legumes
Cheese is one food that you will love if you like it. It is also the hardest food to make with milk. Stockeld Dreamery has not only completed that task, but also has a product to prove it.
The Stockholm-based company, announced Thursday that it had raised $20 million in Series A funding. It was led by Northzone and Astanor Ventures. Gullspng, Eurazeo and Norrsken VC joined the round, which founder Sorosh Tvakoli said to TechCrunch was the largest ever Series A round for a European plant based alternative startup. Angel investors Alexander Ljung and David Frenkiel also participated in it.
Tavakoli founded Videoplaza, a video advertising startup. It was sold to Ooyala by Ooyala. He said that he had done some soul-searching to find the right company for him and wanted it to have an environmental impact. He found himself in the food industry, especially plant-based food.
TechCrunch was told by him that removing an animal can have a significant impact on the environment, land, water, and greenhouse gases. Cheese is my worst nightmare. Despite people wanting to change their diets, many don't like the taste of alternative products.
Tavakoli began to search for a cofounder with a science background. She met Anja Leissner who has a background in biotechnology. Stockeld was founded by them in 2019.
Pr-Jrgen Prson was a general partner at Northzone and was an investor in Videoplaza. He said via email, Stockeld Dreamery was the product of the best technology and the best science. Tavakoli, Leissner and their scientific knowledge combined with their vision of the future led to a commercial application. This is a rare occurrence in the foodtech industry.
Stockeld Chunk was the company's first product. However, there were many trials and tribulations. Tavakoli stated that the team tried over 1000 variations of their cheese product before settling on a winning combination.
He explained that advances in plant-based milk have been successful, and not because of their plant-based origins. But, they are delicious. While innovation is happening in meat, it's still difficult to make cheese.
These are usually made of starch and coconut oils, which can make them unpleasant. The taste and texture can also be bad, Tavakoli said.
Stockeld wanted protein to be the main ingredient so Chunk is made with fermented legumes pea, fava in this instance which gives the cheese an almost feta-like appearance and 30% protein.
Chunk was first launched in Sweden with chefs and restaurants. Spreadable and melting cheeses are part of the product pipeline that Tavakoli anticipates will be available on the market within the next 12 month. He said that melting cheese is the most difficult to make but could be a great ingredient for pizza.
Stockeld has raised just more than $24 million, including the latest round. Stockeld was founded with just four employees. Now, the company has grown to 23 employees. Tavakoli plans to increase that number to 50 by next year.
The company will be able to concentrate on R&D and build a pilot plant. It will also be able to move into a new Stockholm headquarters next year. The company plans to expand outside of Sweden and into America.
Tavakoli stated that we have investors who are ambitious and understand what we're trying to achieve. We have the opportunity to plan big and think big. In the sense that we use legumes to get our protein, we feel like we belong in a different category. It is almost as if we are in the third category of fermented legumes, and it is exciting for us to see where it goes.
Eric Archambeau is co-founder and partner of Astanor Ventures. Tavakoli also met him at his previous company. He said via email that he was interested in the idea of creating a new generation of plant-based cheese when it was presented to him.
Archambeau said that I was impressed from the beginning by the Stockeld team's determination, dedication, and commitment to creating a revolutionary and delicious product. Their product broke the mould and opened up new opportunities for the global cheese industry.
