Plant-based food-tech company Shandi on Wednesday (18 Aug) closed its second seed round led by Singapore-headquartered Tolaram, one of Africa’s largest packaged food companies.
Other investors in this round include Australia based food-tech accelerator SparkLabs Cultiv8, and former CEO-India for Louis Dreyfus and prominent angel investor Simmarpal Singh.
The fresh funding that raised more than US$700,000 will be used to set up a manufacturing facility in Singapore to commercialise and scale Shandi’s proprietary plant-based chicken products, including expanding partnerships in the food sector.
While Shandi has successfully produced chicken analogues in various formats such as pieces, shreds, strips, and drumsticks, part of the proceeds would be allocated to further product innovation and development on new textures, formats, and other meat analogues.
Shandi was founded in 2019 by food industry expert, research veteran, and lifelong vegetarian Dr Reena Sharma.
The food-tech company uses a unique process to develop and manufacture their plant-based chicken, which is made only with natural, non-GMO ingredients such as pea protein, chickpeas, quinoa, flax seeds, brown rice, and coconut oil, and is free from artificial flavourings and other additives.
“We’re thrilled to bring on board a variety of strategic investors, from a large food corporation to a sector-specific venture capital firm as well as an angel investor. This represents a strong validation of our technology and product, and we look forward to working with our investors to move to the next phase and bring our products to market,” said Dr Reena Sharma, Founder and CEO at Shandi.
“With its strong logistics and supply chain, forward-looking regulatory framework and supportive government initiatives, Singapore is well positioned to host our first commercial plant and we’re delighted to be setting up here.”
Shandi is also looking to launch its range of products to food service and food manufacturers in Q1 2022, with a B2C retail product to follow.
Tolaram’s first investment in the alternative protein category
This round of funding also represents Tolaram’s first investment in the alternative protein category.
Tolaram is a Singapore enterprise with business interests across consumer products, fintech, and infrastructure. It operates 23 manufacturing facilities in Africa and leverages its deep distribution network to bring essential consumer goods to half a billion people in the region.
“We continue to see strong growth in the alternative protein category, especially when more affordable options become available for emerging markets,” said Deepak Singhal, Managing Director of Consumer Products at Tolaram.
“We believe that Shandi could be a game-changer as they have created a chicken substitute that not only tastes and behaves like the animal meat but is also priced at par with it. We are excited to help them go-to-market and grow, utilizing our resources, network, and experience in building consumer brands from the ground up.”
Commenting on Tolaram’s partnership with Shandi, Director of Food Manufacturing at Enterprise Singapore Bernice Tay said that everyone is excited to see a new variety of plant-based chicken being introduced to the market.
“Such partnerships between established food companies and emerging food tech startups invigorate the local alternative protein ecosystem and provide greater variety and offerings for consumers. We hope to encourage more of such collaborations going forward,” Ms Tay remarked.
