Perfect Day closes $140M funding round

Perfect Day closes $140M funding round (FoodDive)

• According to a statement released by the company, animal-free dairy protein company Perfect Day closed a US$140m funding round led by Temasek – more than twice the amount it raised in its previous five years.
• The company, which has now raised a total of US$201.5m, plans to use the money to accelerate growth, expand production capacity, deepen partner opportunities, and add to its product portfolio.
• Perfect Day reproduces dairy proteins using using data and 3D printing technology, creating milk proteins (casein and whey) which are molecularly identical to that of a cow, and then uses microflora and fermentation vats to produce it at scale.

Analysis and Comments

• Plant-based dairy sales continue to grow, but while there are a great number of dairy alternatives (ranging from pea milk to soy milk and coconut milk), few would ever be mistaken for the real thing, which is what Perfect Day is aiming for with their fermented milk protein.
• The company calls its product “flora-based dairy protein”; with the flora being the tiny organisms used to produce it.
• In late 2018, Perfect Day agreed a partnership with Archer Daniels Midland, the US agricultural commodity trader (which already has an industrial fermentation infrastructure in place), to help with driving down costs and further develop its product range.
• As a result, Perfect Day claims that at scale, its product can be produced as much as 40% cheaper than milk protein from cows (with obviously a significantly lower environmental impact).
• Earlier this year, Perfect Day launched a limited edition ice cream which sold out in a single day and reportedly tasted just like regular milk-based ice cream. However, the company is not planning to make products itself and will instead partner with brands to rapidly increase its reach.
• One of the participants in the latest fundraising, Li Ka-shing’s Horizon Ventures (an early backer) reportedly values the company at US$440m.
• See here for Perfect Day’s website.

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