January 16, 2024

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Founded in 2014 by bioengineers Ryan Pandya and Perumal Gandhi, Perfect Day has a mission to reimagine food production for a more sustainable future by producing animal-free proteins through fermentation that are nutritionally identical to proteins derived from animals.

Over the past 10 years, the company has completed numerous impressive funding rounds in support of its business, the latest being up to $90 million in pre-Series E financing led by international investors. 

Perfect Day uses microflora to create proprietary animal-free milk proteins that an ISO-compliant third-party reviewed life cycle assessment (LCA) found reduces water consumption by as much as 99 percent, reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 97 percent, and non-renewable energy use by as much as 60 percent, compared to conventional production methods.

The company’s flagship product, the world’s first precision-fermented protein, debuted in 2020, and today is found in animal-free ice creams, cream cheese, baked goods, and sports nutrition products around the globe. 

Perfect Day explained that it has now been able to de-risk its technology and is shifting its focus to executing the scaled manufacturing of dairy protein from fermentation, creating a clear path to proving unit economics and profitability. 

Following a concerted effort to secure this funding and after reaching this deflection point in the businesses’ operations, the company founders, Ryan Pandya and Perumal Gandhi, stated they now intend to shift away from their operational management roles to focus on future opportunities.

After being instrumental in forming the basis upon which Perfect Day was founded, and being pioneers in an entirely new ecosystem of biotech, climate tech, and food tech, the partners stated they are handing off to a team poised to venture into a new phase of impact and profitability supported by the backing of their investors. 

As part of this transition, Perfect Day’s current president TM Narayan will assume the role of interim CEO of the company. Over the course of his tenure, Narayan has been key in guiding the company’s strategic pivot. This, together with his extensive background in scaling and managing retail and CPG companies, makes him an ideal candidate to lead the company forward with support from the newly named co-chairmen of the Board, Aftab Mathur of Temasek and Patrick Zhang of Horizon Ventures. 

“It is an honor to be a part of leading Perfect Day into its next chapter of impact, and to continue building a kinder, greener tomorrow with this mission-driven team,” said TM Narayan, interim CEO, Perfect Day. “Ryan and Perumal achieved well beyond what anyone could have imagined possible when they founded Perfect Day in 2014, and we are now laser-focused on scaling that vision and securing a resilient future for the business and our planet.” 

Patrick Zhang, co-chairman of the board, Perfect Day, and investor, Horizons Ventures, added, “It has been an incredible journey with Perfect Day to-date, and I’m excited to work even more closely with the company as it grows into its next chapter of impact.”

Entering into 2024 with such compelling momentum, Perfect Day also stated that it plans to announce a major CPG partner launch in the coming weeks, as well as new molecules which will usher the impact of precision fermentation into new product categories and markets. 

“This has been a journey we could have only dreamed of when we first started this company in April of 2014,” said Ryan Pandya, co-founder and former CEO, Perfect Day.

“Because of the incredible people behind this business, we’ve de-risked world-changing technology, and we’ve brought it to life globally across over a dozen categories. Under TM’s interim leadership, Perfect Day is now in the right position for us to let the next chapter of leadership drive its path forward.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor in chief 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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