Food tech start-up Hooray Foods has secured the backing of venture capital firm Stray Dog Capital in a seed funding round.

Founded in 2019, Hooray Foods has created a plant-based bacon that aims to replicate the cooking experience, taste and texture of animal-based bacon.

The San Francisco-headquartered company claims to have developed a novel approach to encapsulating fat into a plant-based meat substrate. Its vegan offering is reportedly minimally processed and uses only ‘simple, clean’ ingredients. It is also free from gluten and soy.

Hooray Foods is led by Sri Artham, who previously worked as the VP of Consumer Packaged Goods at Fairtrade USA.

In a funding pitch video posted on the company’s LinkedIn page, Arthram said they were seeking capital to “ramp up” production and invest in R&D.

The company has already been market testing in two San Francisco restaurants and says that it has interest from two “leading grocers” in rolling out its bacon by the end of 2020.

Stray Dog Capital also led the brand’s pre-seed round last October. It was among several members of the GlassWall Syndicate, a group of investors focused on products and services that ‘positively impact animals, people, and the planet’, to participate in this latest round.

“Grubhub reported that vegan bacon spiked 113% last year – we know that consumers are hungry for options like this,” said Macy Marriott, GlassWall Syndicate manager at Stray Dog Capital.

“We’re thrilled to have led the round for this SDC portfolio company – Sri is a true visionary when it comes to creating plant-based bacon’s new reputation as a crisp, savoury, and guilt-free addition to any breakfast lover’s plate.”

Hooray Foods founder Artham added: “Stray Dog Capital is one of the most prolific investors in plant-based eating, and I’m beyond honoured that they believe in us so early on, and see that beyond bacon, we have a vision for plant-based meats that closely mimic their animal counterparts while using ingredients you can feel great about – Hooray!”

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