October 2, 2016

New York-based pea protein snack chip startup, Proformance Foods, has raised $1.2 million in a round led by “one of the ten largest CPG companies in the world.” The company also announced that it has changed its brand name from ProTings to Protes, in response to a dispute with B&G Foods who owns the brand, Original Tings.

Launched in 2013 by company co-founders Krik Angacian and Ryan Wiltse, who were roommates at Boston College, Protes chips, which contain 15 grams of protein per one ounce serving, are now being sold in 2,000 stores across the U.S. and overseas through retail outlets including ShopRite, Wegmans, LuckyVitamin.com, and Amazon.

“We are committed to creating the world’s premier protein snacks,” Angacian told AlleyWatch. “Our first product line is Protes protein chips.  They are baked chips made from pea protein isolate. The chips are vegan, Non-GMO Project Certified, gluten free, all natural, and kosher.”

Protes was a member of the 2016 cohort chosen by the Food-X accelerator, which is backed by venture capital firm SOSV. Selected from a field of 300 applicants, Protes (known then as ProTings) was one of ten startups awarded $50,000 in funding  – consisting of $20,000 in cash and a $30,000 convertible loan note in exchange for a stake in the company of between seven and 10 percent. All startups received mentoring to guide them in launching and commercializing their concepts.

Discussing the growth Protes has seen and its fundraising strategy with AlleyWatch, Angacian explains, “We did a small seed round with SOSV a few months earlier and our growth was so strong that a much larger group started conversations soon after for a full Series A. We were already cash profitable at that point so we didn’t feel the need to run a full financial raise, but the right partners came along and we decided it was in the best interest of the company to engage with them in negotiations and an eventual deal.”

Alternative Proteins in the Headlines

Alternative protein sources have been increasingly on the radar of both consumers and investors. Global protein consumption is expected to climb at a CAGR of 1.7 percent, reaching 943 million tons by 2054, according to Lux Research. Over this same time period, alternative protein sources are forecast to command up to a third of the protein market as they fill the void created by slowing growth in meat and seafood production.

“Consumer preference, concerns over the planet’s ability to produce sufficient meat, impact of livestock agriculture on the environment, and mounting scientific advances are driving the changing protein demand, said Camilla Stice, Lux Research Analyst.

Consumers are not the only ones pushing for this sea-change in consumption. At the end of September, a collation of 40 institutional investors with a combined valuation of $1.25 trillion called for the greater adoption of alternative protein sources including plants, insects, algae, nuts, seeds and grains, and lab-cultured meats. In the treatise, The Future of Food: The investment case for a protein shake up” published by the Farm Animal Investment Risk and Return (FAIRR) initiative, the group claims that over-reliance on livestock production to feed a growing global population would be unsustainable and would “lead a financial, social and environmental crisis.”

Jeremy Coller, CIO of Coller Capital and founder of the FAIRR Initiative explained to Meat + Poultry that livestock production is currently responsible for excessive pollution levels while lacking in safety and welfare standards.

“It simply can’t cope with the projected increase in global protein demand,” said Coller. “Investors want to know if major food companies have a strategy to avoid this protein bubble and to profit from a plant-based protein market…”

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Lynda Kiernan