PORTLAND, ORE. — Neutral Foods, a carbon-neutral food company, has closed a round of funding from celebrity investors ahead of its Series A financing.
Founded in 2019, Neutral Foods partners with farmers to reduce and offset the carbon impact of dairy production. The company markets a line of organic and conventional carbon-neutral milk, heavy whipping cream and half-and-half. Products are sold in Whole Foods Market stores nationwide and additional grocery store chains around the country. The brand will be available in more than 1,200 stores by the summer and nearly double that by the end of the year, according to Neutral Foods.
“Thanks to this early round of funding and belief in our brand and mission, we are well poised to continue to raise funds and awareness for our dairy products that consumers can immediately feel great about buying,” said Marcus Lovell Smith, chief executive officer of Neutral Foods. “We make it so simple for consumers as every single purchase of our milk and half-and-half helps fight climate change.”
The funding round was led by Darco Capital’s David Adelman, with participation from professional basketball player LeBron James and his business partner Maverick Carter, David Rubenstein’s Shorewind Capital, musicians John Legend and Questlove, model and author Emily Ratajkowski and her husband and producer, Sebastian Bear-Mclard, professional soccer player Carlos Bocanegra, and professional basketball players Tobias Harris and Kevin Love. The new investors join previous stakeholders Mark Cuban and Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Last October, Neutral Foods raised $4 million in a seed funding.
“The way we produce and consume food now is unsustainable,” said Questlove, musician, filmmaker, investor and culinary entrepreneur. “It won’t last because it can’t. If we care about our planet, we have to invest in companies that are replacing old ideas with newer, better ones. Neutral is one of those companies.”
Jake Poliskin, head of investments at Darco Capital, said, ““Neutral is a game-changer in three critical ways; Neutral helps dairy farmers make more money, Neutral fights climate change, and Neutral gives customers the opportunity to continue consuming the same great traditional dairy products that they’ve been doing for hundreds of years.”