NEW YORK — Kingdom Supercultures, a developer and supplier of natural microbial cultures, raised $25 million in a Series A funding round led by Shine Capital, with participation from Valor, Tao, Lux, SALT, Reference, Digitalis and existing investors.

The founders of food companies Daring Foods, Good Culture, Hungryroot, RXBAR and Waterloo also participated in the round.

New York-based Kingdom Supercultures is building out a library of natural microbes that come from food, which it assembles into new specialty ingredients called “Supercultures” that it sells to consumer packaged goods manufacturers. The Supercultures may be used to improve flavor, texture and functional properties in a range of products, including plant-based foods and fermented beverages. The ingredients have been used to develop dairy-free yogurts and cheeses, low-alcohol wines and beers and natural preservatives.

With the plant-based foods market showing no signs of slowing and more established food companies continuing to enter the ring, the company will use funds from the Series A round to expand its portfolio of Superculture ingredients, said Kendall Dabaghi, chief executive officer of Kingdom Supercultures.

“The last few years have seen tremendous growth in demand for consumer goods that are healthier and more sustainable,” he said. “This funding will allow us to meet the need for novel, natural ingredients by continuing to build out our world-class team and advancing our Superculture R&D.”

The company aims to replace artificial chemicals and GMOs with Supercultures as “the backbone of the modern CPG industry,” he added. It works with partners to develop customized culture or fermentate solutions, going from concept to commercialization in as little as six months.

“We were drawn to Kingdom's visionary founders and their use of natural biology coupled with machine learning to help catalyze our move towards natural food and beverage products,” said Mo Koyfman, founder and general partner at Shine Capital. “Particularly as the plant-based market continues to expand, Kingdom Supercultures is poised to enable large and small brands alike to deliver the highest quality natural products to consumers. We are in the early stages of this market's development, and we are thrilled to support the company's vision from the ground floor.” FBN