June 3, 2022

Photo: Joywell Foods

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Food tech and consumer goods company Joywell Foods announced it has closed on an oversubscribed $25 million Series B in support of unlocking the potential in sweet proteins to revolutionize today’s modern diets.

This round follows a $6.9 million Series A announced by the company in July 2020 that was led by Evolv Ventures. At the time, the Series A, along with Joywell’s previous Seed round, brought total funding for the company to $13.2 million. This Series B lifts that total to $38.2 million. 

This latest round was led by Piva Capital, and included B37 Ventures, Global Brain Corporation, along with returning existing investors Khosla Ventures, Evolv Ventures, SOSV’s IndiBio, and Alumni Ventures.

Sweet Success

Americans typically consume an average of 17 teaspoons of sugar per day, or 57 pounds of added sugars per year. However, driven by the trend toward a more healthy lifestyle and diet, consumers have targeted sugar as a key ingredient to reduce or eliminate from their food choices.

A survey conducted by Innova Market Insights in 2019 found that three in five U.S. consumers would rather cut sugar out of their diet than opt for artificial sweeteners. 

More data collected in 2021 – featured in a webinar by The Food Institute called Sizing up the Sugar Reduction Trend: Key Insights and Industry Applications – found that 53 percent of consumers were taking measures to avoid or limit their sugar intake, and were opting for alternatives that were seen as more natural such as agave, honey, stevia, or monk fruit.

And as the market reacts to this sentiment, it creates a window of opportunity for innovators such as Joywell Foods – the creator of a brand-new class of sweet protein products that are not only 2,000-5,500 times sweeter than sugar, but do not cause the long-term negative metabolic effects that sugar does such as diabetes, heart disease, and liver disease.

Using a proprietary microbial fermentation process, Joywell produces nature-identical sweet proteins to those found in exotic fruits and berries that mimic the taste of sugar, but as proteins, don’t impact blood sugar levels or gut microbiomes.

“Worldwide, consumers love their sweets; we want people everywhere to have their cake and eat it too!” said Ali Wing, CEO, Joywell Foods. “Novel proteins that are sweet change the game for consumers – great-tasting, healthy and good for the climate all in one. In partnership with our top-tier group of global investors, we’re excited to bring sweet proteins to market.”

When considered at scale, Joywell’s sweet proteins not only have profound implications for human health, but for the planet as well, due to its low carbon footprint. For each percent in reduction of sugar production, approximately 650,000 acres of sugar cane fields are saved, directly supporting less deforestation and healthier ecosystems.

“Traditional sugar is not only the chief culprit in our battle with obesity and diabetes, but it also requires millions of acres of land impacting precious ecosystems,” said Adzmel Adznan, partner and co-founder, Piva Capital.

Over the past 12 months, Joywell Foods has scaled its sweet protein platform across multiple proteins, developing consumer products in preparation for launch. The capital from this funding round will be used by the company to continue the acceleration of its R&D, and to scale up prior to commercialization of its entire sweet protein platform.

“Joywell Foods’ sweet proteins are a genuine breakthrough in addressing both of these critical issues. We look forward to supporting Ali and the team as they accelerate from R&D to commercial success.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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