Andfoods
Allergen-free, legume-based dairy alternative ingredients for foodservice.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | investor | €0.0 | round |
| investor | €0.0 | round | |
* | $2.7m | Seed | |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
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Andfoods is a food technology startup founded in 2023 and based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, that develops dairy-alternative products from legumes. The company is a spinout from research conducted at Massey University and the Riddet Institute, a prominent New Zealand food science center. The founding team includes CEO Alex Devereux, CTO Dr. Arup Nag, Alejandra Acevedo-fani, Yiran Wang, Debashree Roy, and Harjinder Singh. Dr. Nag's background in dairy science and research at the Riddet Institute was instrumental; he identified the potential of a specific legume from his native India to serve as the base for the company's technology.
The company's core technology is a proprietary fermentation process that neutralizes undesirable flavors in plant materials, specifically a type of lentil, to create a palatable base for dairy alternatives. This process allows Andfoods to produce high-quality, nutritious, and functional ingredients for other companies to use in their own products. The business model is primarily business-to-business (B2B), positioning Andfoods as an ingredient supplier to the foodservice industry, with plans to initially target bakery and coffee chains.
Andfoods' first product is a plant-based, allergen-free whipping cream. It is noted for its high performance, achieving a consistent 140% overrun—its ability to incorporate air and maintain shape—which is comparable to the ultra-high-temperature (UHT) dairy creams used in commercial kitchens. The company has also developed a lentil milk powder used in products like plant-based ice cream. Andfoods plans to launch its general cream product in Australia and New Zealand in late 2024, with future plans to introduce culinary cream and cream cheese in 2026.
In March 2024, Andfoods raised NZ$2.7 million in a seed funding round led by Icehouse Ventures to commercialize its products and accelerate research and development. The company has also appointed Leon Clement, former CEO of Synlait and ex-Fonterra Managing Director, as its chair.
Keywords: plant-based dairy, food technology, dairy alternatives, legume-based, foodservice ingredients, B2B food supplier, fermentation technology, whipping cream, plant-based cream, Riddet Institute, Massey University, allergen-free, sustainable food, food science, lentil milk, alt-protein, New Zealand foodtech, agritech, commercial ingredients, dairy-free