The Zug-based foodtech startup yamo has today announced it has closed a €10.1 million Series A funding round to expand into France and add further products for children. Founced in 2016, the young company has already seen some great success for its fresh and natural food for babies and toddlers across the DACH region, serving customers online and through retailers. The latest round from France-based Five Seasons Ventures, Swiss Entrepreneurs Fund, Ringier Digital Ventures, Müller Ventures, btov Partners, Polytech Ventures, BackBone Ventures and Fundament brings its total funding to €12 million.
Co-founded CEO Tobias Gunzenhauser, COO José Amado-Blanco, and CMO Luca Michas, yamo is on a mission to give parents healthier and easy food choices for their child. The products are available online using a subscription model and are already stocked by Coop across Switzerland, and are being tested in select Edeka and Rewe stores in Germany.
Today parents can either use preserved food in jars from the dry shelves of a supermarket or make their own fresh meals for their child at home, which requires more time. Traditionally baby and toddler food available in supermarkets have used ultra-high heat sterilisation, which provides a long shelf life, but also destroys many heat-sensitive vitamins like Vitamin C, natural colour and smell.
yamo uses high pressure pasteurisation which kills bacteria in minutes, and retains natural nutrients, taste, colour and smell. yamo’s products last between eight to twelve weeks in the refrigerator. The products of the Swiss foodtech startup include Cups, from Beetney Spears to Anthony Pumpkins; Pouches, with flavours such as Avocado di Caprio, Nicki Spinaj and Katy Berry; and newly launched yamoghurts.
According to yamo, their non-dairy alternative yoghurt made with oat milk is the first of its kind to launch in Europe for children, with flavours Mariah Cherry or Chocodile Dundee, among others. This is driven by a wider consumer move towards plant-based sustainable alternatives.
Tobias Gunzenhauser, CEO and Co-Founder of yamo, stated: “Since the beginning yamo has been at the forefront of a new wave of health conscious products for children. When we found ourselves standing in the baby food aisle of a supermarket and looking at what went into a jar, we were shocked at just how long it was shelf stable for. Standard methods mean we have lost so much goodness from the food we give a child, that we’re probably not providing them with the strongest start, with all the real nutrients they need to develop. We have been leading on the use of HPP in the infant food market and we’ve been able to convince our partners to adapt their stores to ensure our fresh food can be stocked. We now see fridges amongst the dry baby food shelves of supermarkets – something we were told would be impossible to achieve! We’re working with leading retailers across DACH and excited to take the next step to explore the French market.”
via https://www.AiUpNow.com/ by contact@bcurdy.com, Khareem Sudlow
