Soylent Raises $50M To Support Ambitious Growth Plans

LOS ANGELES, United States — Controversial meal replacement brand Soylent has completed a $50 million Series B financing round as part of its quest to become a modern-day commodity.

Led by venture capital firm GV, an investor in both Juicero and Impossible Foods, with participation from Tao Capital Partners, as well as existing investors Lerer Hippeau Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz, the round increases Soylent’s existing funding to a total of $74.5 million.

“We’re thrilled to add GV to Soylent’s community of investors, customers, and team members who see the importance of developing healthy, functional foods,” said Rob Rhinehart, Soylent Founder and CEO in a company statement.

“This funding will enable us to expand our current product offerings, support our expansion efforts into traditional retail and international territories, and further our goal of bringing Soylent products to people around the world.”

Backed by more than $3 million from the largest crowdfunded food project in history, since its launch in 2013, Soylent’s suite of products has grown beyond its original powder to include ready-to-drink meals, protein bars and a host of flavour expansions.

Despite a product recall last year, after it was discovered that some of the brand’s algae-based ingredients were behind a bout of customer sickness, the engineered nutrition company says it has maintained consistent, strong sales growth.

In the first quarter of 2017, net revenue nearly doubled over the same quarter in the prior year, according to the brand’s website, this GV General Partner Andy Wheeler argues, is down to Soylent addressing one of the biggest issues we face today: access to complete, affordable nutrition.

“As one of the pioneers in this space, Soylent is tackling this problem head-on with progressive thinking and a clear strategy that has led to outstanding growth,” he added.

With ambitions to grow Soylent into a global, household staple, according to BevNET, the company plans on using the new funding to support the introduction of its products to grocery and convenience channels. Rhinehart says that the goal is to expand Soylent’s consumer base as far as possible.

“Eventually, Soylent should be as easy to find as a cup of coffee,” he told the website.