The VERY Food Co., a French startup developing functional plant-based food ingredients to replace animal products, has completed an €850,000 funding round.
The round saw participation from Apok Invest, public investment bank Bpifrance, and business angels such as Frédérick Bouisset and Pascal Viguié. The VERY Food Co. previously raised funding from Big Idea Ventures, and the new round takes the total sum secured by the startup to over €1 million.
VERY will use the funding to accelerate the commercialisation of its products. This includes VERY AQUAFABA, an award-winning natural emulsifier that can replace egg whites in patisserie products and cocktails.
The startup has also won a call for projects titled “Innovating for successful agro-ecological and food transitions”, part of the government-funded France 2030 investment plan. VERY was recognised for its idea to develop plant-based tourage butter, a special type of dry unsalted butter used for patisserie products where the dough requires folding.
Transforming consumption patterns
Following the raise, VERY has formed a strategic partnership with the BIA (Biopolymers, Interactions, Assemblies) unit at public research organisation INRAE Nantes. The startup has also announced the hiring of Dr Eugenia Asamoah, who holds a PhD in Food Science and Food Process Engineering, to contribute to the development of its food science and technology.
Additionally, VERY has appointed five new figures to its Senior Advisory Committee. They are Barbara Galli (formerly of Mars and McCain), Johan Boot (formerly of Unilever and Just), Dr. Marc Anton (INRAE), Dr. Maria Cristina Anon (CONICET), and Frédérick Bouisset (formerly of Lactalis, Labeyrie, and Fleury Michon).
The news comes as interest in plant-based foods continues to grow in France, with supermarket chain Carrefour reporting earlier this year that it had exceeded its target of making €500 million in sales of plant-based alternatives by 2026. However, this success has attracted backlash from the animal agriculture industry, which is lobbying for restrictions on the way plant-based products can be marketed. A resulting decree that would have banned the use of “meat-like” terms for plant-based foods was suspended in April after the Conseil d’Etat concluded that it may not be legal.
“With these new resources and expertise, The VERY Food Co., co-founded by Arnaud Delacour and Dr Oscar Castellani, is giving itself the means to transform consumption patterns by promoting massive and sustainable vegetalization of our food supply,” said VERY in a statement. “The company is dedicated to creating sustainable solutions for the food industry, collaborating with renowned partners to innovate and meet tomorrow’s challenges.”
