Bond Pet Foods, Inc., a Boulder-based pet food startup that contains proteins made in a fermentation process rather than meat, raised a $17.5 million Series A, including investments from musicians Joan Jett and Shia Isabelle Farrar. We have closed a funding round.
Proceeds from this financing will be used to build a 15,000-square-foot production facility in central Boulder, the company said.
Bond CEO Rich Kelleman said in a statement: Their support allows us to take our work to the next level, developing and scaling a range of meat proteins for our valued partners in the pet food industry. ”
Founded in 2017, Bond has developed a process to produce animal proteins similar to those used to produce lactic acid and enzymes for cheese making. Agriculture is not required to produce Bond pet food products.
“The company’s recent achievements in strain development and cost, as well as its expanded relationships with global strategic partners, demonstrate Bond’s technology platform and ability to usher in a new era of responsible protein for our pets. Genoa Ventures, one of the series A investors, said in a statement: “We are bullish on Bond’s approach and its potential to change the pet food supply chain for the better.”
Bond raised a $1.2 million seed round in 2019, bringing its total funding to $20 million after completing Series A.
Series A investors include ADM Ventures, Cavallo Ventures, Lever VC, Thia Ventures, iSelect Fund, Stage 1 Fund, Lifely VC and Satori Capital, in addition to Jett, Furler and Genoa Ventures.
“With industry sales reaching $100 billion and an annual growth rate of 4.5%, pet nutrition is a key growth pillar for ADM. Increasingly, consumers demand that their pets eat the same sustainable and responsibly produced food they eat themselves, and proteins produced by precision fermentation are part of the future of the industry. We are expanding our capabilities in these categories and are proud to be part of Bond Pet Foods’ journey. It offers new opportunities.”
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