Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed joins Eclipse Food’s $40 Million Series B funding round as new investor
KBW Ventures joins leading funds including Forerunner Ventures, Initialized Capital, and Gaingels in the latest Series B funding round of over $40 million for Eclipse Foods led by Sozo Ventures. With the latest round of funding, Eclipse has raised over $60 million to date. The new funding will fuel the rapid growth of the business in retail and food service, accelerate R&D on Eclipse’s proprietary plant-based dairy platform, build the brand’s world-class team, and drive awareness for Eclipse as the world’s first true dairy replacement.
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed, founder and CEO, KBW Ventures commented, “Venture-backed companies that are working to democratize access to alt-proteins play a very important role in the global press to ensure food security. Eclipse Foods’ proprietary methods and technology positions it as one of the companies that at face value is making delicious products; the bigger picture here is what they can do for the alterative protein sector. Creating fantastic products that consumers love is a vital step when looking to encourage mass adoption of sustainable foods; for this region and for the world. Everyone wants to eat things that taste great and have the additional boon of being kinder to the earth.”
According to Koichiro Nakamura, Founder and General Partner of Sozo Ventures, the lead investor, “The number one reason consumers avoid plant-based dairy is taste. As self-proclaimed ice cream lovers, our team at Sozo Ventures recognized that Eclipse’s ice cream is in a league of its own after just one bite. 70 percent of the world’s population is lactose intolerant and with the alternative protein space projected to grow to $1.4 trillion by 2050, Eclipse is positioned to completely transform the dairy industry with its proprietary plant-based dairy platform.”
The Oakland-based brand was co-founded with the mission to create a more sustainable, healthy and humane food system. It has scaled faster and more efficiently than competitors in the space, thanks to its plant-based dairy platform which uses a blend of non-GMO plants to create virtually any plant-based dairy product. Year over year, Eclipse has grown its retail presence by 2100 percent. The brand is also dramatically expanding its food service partnerships, working with restaurants, burger chains, ice cream shops, stadiums, and more.
