A start-up from Massey University and the Riddet Institute developing milk and cream products from seeds has acquired a $2.7 million funding.

Launched less than a year ago, the Palmerston North-based ANDFOODS uses seeds or ‘pulses’ of a legume to create dairy alternatives without compromising the environment.

Sprung out of research at Massey University and the Riddet Institute, ANDFOODS was able to raise $2.7 million in funding led by Icehouse Ventures.

Alex Devereux, CEO of ANDFOODS says the investment will allow them to take their product to market and “accelerate its R&D efforts”.

“With the amount of R&D that’s been invested, ANDFOODS is in an incredible position as we go into the market with a product that has years of science behind it. As well as being one of the few allergen-free dairy alternatives, our process uses fermentation to help give ANDFOODS greater control of flavour profile and other important properties,” says Devereux.

Not even at the one-year mark, the start-up has seen momentum, recently adding former Synlait CEO and ex-Fonterra MD, Leon Clement as its chair to support product development with some of the largest food companies in the world.

Icehouse Ventures Partner, Barnaby Marshall says this momentum made investment decisions “simple”.

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“No one is doubting the demand for dairy-free products. Consumers want them, the environment needs them, but at the end of the day they have to stand up to the taste test. When I first heard about ANDFOODS, I put it into the bucket of ‘another plant based milk’ and was duly sceptical — then I tasted it. ANDFOODS has developed something that is poised to become a fundamental ingredient for all kinds of food producers, at a high enough quality that it’s immune to changing trends,” says Marshall.

As the dairy-alternative market becomes saturated, ANDFOODS is able to stand out by being able to closely capture the taste and texture of dairy.

Their signature product has a consistent 140 percent overrun, an ability to take on air and maintain shape while keeping its creamy taste profile.

These overrun results are more comparable to the standard-bearing ultra-high temperature (UHT) creams preferred by commercial kitchens and food manufacturers.

The decision to use legumes came from CTO and Co-founder, Dr Arup Nag who was born and raised in India, and remembered the “latent potential” of the plant from his homeland.

“This has been a union of the special ingredients native to my home in India, combined with the resources and expertise from the team at the Riddet Institute. With ANDFOODS we now have the means to commercialise this scientific discovery, and provide the best plant-based cream and ingredients to the world,” says Nag.