Perfect Day, the US-based vegan dairy protein producer that counts agribusiness Continental Grain as an investor, increased its series C round to $300m yesterday with a $160m second tranche.
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s Thematic Investing group provided $50m to lead the second close, which follows $140m from Temasek, Horizons Ventures and undisclosed existing investors in December 2019 at a valuation placed at $440m by the Financial Times.
Formerly known as Muufri, Perfect Day utilises fermentation in microflora to create plant-based dairy protein that forms the basis for products like vegan and lactose-free cheese, cream cheese or ice cream.
The latest round comes after the company has doubled its production capacity in recent months while simultaneously cutting costs. The extra cash brought its overall funding to approximately $364m since it was founded in 2014.
Ryan Pandya, Perfect Day’s co-founder and chief executive, said: “We never doubted we would reach this point, we just did not expect to get here so quickly.
“And, thanks to our world-class team and investors, we are not planning to take our foot off the pedal anytime soon. The coronavirus pandemic has shown just how fragile our food system is. We are committed to building real change that prioritises diversity, agility and resilience.”
Singaporean government-owned investment firm Temasek led a $24.7m series A round for Perfect Day in early 2018 that also featured Continental Grain, Iconiq Capital, Lion Ventures, Verus International and undisclosed additional investors. Horizons Ventures had backed it at seed stage.
The company subsequently added $34.8m in a February 2019 series B round co-led by Temasek, Horizons Ventures and ADM Capital.
Image courtesy of Perfect Day, Inc.
