US startup MeliBio has raised $850,000 in its pre-seed funding round. The funding will allow it to further develop and soft-launch its bee-free honey. Investors in the round included Big Idea Ventures, Joyance Partners, 18.ventures, and others.
Bee-Free Honey MeliBio Wins Food Replacement Innovation Of The Year at AgTech Breakthrough Awards
MeliBio, the pioneer in bee-free honey, announces it has been awarded the Food Replacement Innovation Of The Year award in the 4th annual AgTech Breakthrough Awards program conducted by AgTech Breakthrough, The Oakland, California-based company was founded in 2020 and secured pre-seed funding in 2021 for its innovative product, going on to receive $5.7 million in a seed round in 2022 followed by an additional $2.2 million in investments later that year. Several partnerships have ensued: foodservice expansions include those with Eleven Madison, San Francisco’s BAIA restaurant as well as with Colorado’s leading plant-based burger chain Meta Burger. The product, according to Founder Darko Mandich, features plant-based ingredients that are naturally found in honey, making it the closest match to traditional bee-made honey on the …