USA: Bettani Farms buys three plant-based brands

Bettani Farms, the US-based alternative protein startup, has rapidly expanded its product portfolio by acquiring three challenger brands: plant-based meat supplier Hungry Planet and vegan cheese producers Numu and Stockeld Dreamery.

The Californian firm, which rebranded from Climax Foods in October following a $6.5 million Series A raise, is grouping the businesses under a new Bettani Brands umbrella to create a “wholistic set” of next-generation solutions for foodservice operators.

The deal marks a revival for Stockeld Dreamery, the Swedish-American cultured cheese startup which had recently shut down operations. Brooklyn-based Numu supplies dairy-free mozzarella to pizzerias across the US and Canada, while Hungry Planet focuses exclusively on supplying plant-based proteins, including beef, chicken, pork, and crab alternatives, to the foodservice sector.

The acquisition is intended to accelerate Bettani Farms’ core focus on commercialising its proprietary protein ingredient, Caseed, which is derived from regenerative seed crops. This plant-derived replacement for dairy casein is designed to deliver superior functionality in dairy-free cheeses, offering 12–20g of protein per 100g of finished product.

Sandeep Patel, Bettani Farms CEO, claimed that the Caseed-powered cheeses “deliver the melt, stretch, texture, and flavour consumers crave in pizza and other hot foods, without the allergens and high carbon footprint of dairy”.

Source: Green Queen