Better Juice secures $8m in seed funding

Better Juice, a start-up that has developed technology to reduce all types of sugars in orange juice, has raised $8 million in a seed funding round.

The Israel-based company’s enzymatic technology uses natural ingredients to convert fructose, glucose and sucrose into prebiotic dietary fibres and other non-digestible molecules.

Designed to target orange juice’s specific sugar composition, Better Juice says that its technology can reduce up to 80% of all sugars to create a low-calorie product with a delicate sweetness.

Founded in 2018, Better Juice opened a pilot plant in January this year and will now use the new investment to build its first full-scale manufacturing facility, which will reportedly increase its production capacity by 40-fold

Led by iAngels, Better Juice’s seed round also received participation from Maverick Ventures, Israel, Schestowitz Group and Strauss Group’s food tech-focused incubator, The Kitchen Hub, among others.

“We strongly believe in Better Juice’s outstanding technology to lead the sugar reduction revolution in natural juices,” said Mor Assia, CEO and founding partner of iAngels.

“The company has created exceptional partnerships with leading beverage companies and is paving the way to better-for-you products.”

Better Juice will also use the new funds to expand its sales and marketing teams to support its commercialisation stage.

“We are excited to complete this investment round with the support of leading venture capital and CPG companies from around the globe,” said Eran Blachinsky, founder and CEO of Better Juice.

“This investment will enable us to accelerate our growth and expand into other product lines, such as ice cream, soft drinks and jam.”

Gali Yarom, co-founder, COO and VP of business development for Better Juice, added: “We are very proud of this achievement, which reflects the investors’ trust in our technology. There is a significant need in the beverage industry to effectively reduce sugar and we anticipate bringing our solution to market in just a few months.”