The Venture Capital fund, Blue Horizon Ventures, has taken significant minority positions in four plant-based food and sustainability companies: Human Food, TIPA, Algama Foods and Clara Foods.
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND / September 12, 2019 — We are proud to announce the first close of our Blue Horizon Ventures flagship fund. On the heels of the first close in Q2 2019, the fund has assumed significant minority positions in Algama Foods, Clara Foods, Human Food and TIPA.
These are the first in many strategic investments we’ll be making in promising global plant-based food, cellular agriculture and sustainability-focused companies.
Blue Horizon Ventures is a food technology-focused venture capital fund founded in 2018 by serial entrepreneurs and investors Roger Lienhard and Michael Kleindl. The fund aims to support the movement towards a more sustainable food system through innovation, technology and entrepreneurship. The underlying mission of the fund is to support and promote a positive global impact on the environment, human health, and animal welfare.
The four game-changing companies are:
Among these initial investments, Blue Horizon Ventures has co-led the $25 million (USD) Growth Round with an investment of $5 million (USD) into TIPA joining existing and new shareholders, Horizons Ventures, GreenSoil Investments, Chestnut and Triodos Organic Growth Fund. Israel-based, TIPA produces biodegradable packaging solutions for the food and beverage industry, which are 100% biodegradable and compostable. Blue Horizon Ventures Partner, Michael Kleindl, will join the board of TIPA.
Blue Horizon Ventures also led the Series A round for Algama Foods, investing €1.5 million (EUR) into the French microalgae startup. Blue Horizon Ventures was joined in the €3.1 million (EUR) Series A round by existing shareholders VegInvest and Beyond Impact.
Micro-algae is a largely untapped opportunity. Its nutritional value is ideal for addressing the increasing global need for high-quality and sustainable protein food sources. Co-Founder and CEO Alvyn Severien, together with Co-Founder Gaetan Gohin, founded Algama four years ago with the intention of introducing microalgae into everyday products, increasing protein content and nutritional value in a sustainable and ecological way. Dr. Regina Hecker, Principal at Blue Horizon Ventures, will join the board of Algama Foods.
Blue Horizon Ventures joins Clara Foods’ $30 million (USD) Series B Round led by Ingredion. The San Francisco-based food startup is the market leader in engineering, manufacturing and formulating animal-free, animal proteins as ingredients for the global food and beverage industry. Blue Horizon Ventures supports Clara’s mission with a co-investment of $1.5 million (USD) alongside Ingredion, and B37 (a strategic partner of the Mexican baking giant Grupo Bimbo), Hemisphere Ventures and global venture capital and investment management firm SOSV.
Finally, Blue Horizon Ventures led the £0.5 million (GBP) Series A round for Human Food, a UK-based next generation food startup developing nutrition bar that contain the recommended daily portion of natural vitamins. Human Food mission is to bring high quality meal replacements with all-natural ingredients. Michael Kleindl, Partner at Blue Horizon Ventures, is to join the board of Human Food.
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