General Mills’ 301 Inc leads $40m funding in vegan brand Kite Hill

US vegan cheese and yogurt brand Kite Hill has secured $40 million in funding led by 301 Inc, the venture capital arm of General Mills.

Kite Hill – which makes plant-based yogurts, cream cheese-style spreads, soft cheeses and ravioli – has its products on sale at retailers such as Whole Foods Market, Sprouts, Kroger and Target. Cavu Venture Partners also participated in the financing round.

The capital from the round will enable the brand to increase its capacity, invest in marketing, innovation and people to help fuel growth.

Rob Leibowitz, Kite Hill CEO, said: “This investment propels Kite Hill into a great position to continue our rapid pace of expansion. We are eager to meet the seemingly insatiable consumer demand for our delicious chef-inspired plant-based, vegan foods. As such, we’ll be investing substantially in factory capacity expansion.

“We will also continue to innovate in product development and marketing to drive further awareness and adoption of our delicious foods which never compromise and always deliver extremely well on both taste and texture.”

Co-founder Tal Ronen said: “We started Kite Hill because we knew we could make first-rate dairy alternatives that everyone would love. What we’ve created to date has exceeded our expectations. Now that we are available nationwide, we want to continue to offer people the high-quality, innovative products they have come to expect from us at Kite Hill. We are showing consumers just how delicious plant-based foods can be.”

John Haugen, founder and managing director of 301 Inc, added: “Kite Hill continues to set itself apart in what is now a mainstream demand for plant-based nutrition.

“As more people are making changes in their diet, we see incredible untapped potential in the market for the brand to expand its consumer base and grow.”

The funding by 301 Inc follows on from its investment earlier this year in plant-based beverage brand Urban Remedy.

Meanwhile, Cavu Venture partners has backed a range of brands this year, including: Bulletproof, Once Upon a Farm, Rebbl and Kettle & Fire.