SAN FRANCISCO — The Every Co., formerly Clara Foods, has closed an oversubscribed $175 million Series C funding round led by new investor McWin and existing investor Rage Capital. Additional investors include Temasek, Grosvenor’s Wheatsheaf Group, TO Ventures and Prosus Ventures.
Founded in 2014, The Every Co. has developed a platform leveraging precision fermentation to produce animal proteins without the use of animals. The company launched animal-free pepsin last year in partnership with Ingredion, Inc., Westchester, Ill. Recently, it introduced animal-free egg protein, and in November the company collaborated with cold-pressed juice brand Pressed to serve an animal-free protein smoothie.
The latest financing brings The Every Co.’s total funding to $233 million. The company plans to use the capital to scale production, commercialize its animal-free protein products nationwide and expand into new food applications. The Every Co. also will continue to expand its protein production platform by identifying novel, functional proteins in the egg proteome. Proteins by Every are distributed globally by Ingredion.
“There has never been a better time to be a B2B ingredients platform,” said Arturo Elizondo, chief executive officer and founder of The Every Co. “As the world’s biggest food companies work to evolve their product offerings into the 21st century by driving for cleaner, kinder, and more sustainable labels, the options available are few and far between. We at Every are perfectly positioned to enable the world’s largest and smallest food companies to transition to an animal-free future — without compromises. Now, our major objective is to scale the platform to make good on our promise to bring our proteins to everyone, everywhere. This new injection of capital will allow us to do just that.”
McWin Food Ecosystem Fund, backed by Steven K. Winegar and Henry McGovern, invests exclusively in foodservice and food technology companies. Mr. McGovern also is the founder of AmRest Holdings, which operates more than 2,300 restaurants globally.
“The restaurant industry is one of the early adopters of new food technologies and their introduction to the consumer,” Mr. McGovern said. “Given our deep roots in restaurants and as a prolific investor in the leading alternative protein companies, McWin is uniquely equipped to support Every’s ambitious plans to bring its products to menus worldwide. Eggs are not only ubiquitous, but they are also incredibly difficult to replace; we see tremendous potential in Every’s revolutionary technology.”