Dairy alternative ingredient supplier Perfect Day announced on Tuesday it has entered the sports nutrition category with the launch of two new lines of protein powders that feature the company’s animal-free whey as the star ingredient.
The food tech company has partnered with wellness supplement producer Natreve to introduce Mooless, a line of vegan protein powders. In tandem, Perfect Day’s CPG arm, The Urgent Company, will also launch a new brand called California Performance Company, that will produce its own protein powders, with plans to expand the company’s reach into rapidly expanding plant-based markets such as Singapore and Hong Kong. To-date, the company’s milk protein has been used in ice cream, baked desserts, cream cheese and cake mixes.
“This is an incredibly exciting moment for Perfect Day, as our animal-free dairy ingredients find more commercially viable uses across new product categories and now new continents, as we enter three global markets in a critical step towards our vision of a more equitable, resilient, and diverse food system for all,” Ryan Pandya, co-founder and CEO of Perfect Day, Inc said in a press release.
Mooless contains 20 grams of protein per serving and comes in four flavors: Vanilla Bean Cupcake, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Cookies and Cream and Strawberry Shortcake. Meanwhile, California Performance’s powdered products feature slightly more protein with 23 grams per serving and come in three varieties: Chocolate Brownie, Mixed Berry and Vanilla Sundae.
The protein in both products is “molecularly identical” to traditional whey, according to the company, and is created through a precision fermentation process that generates less greenhouse gas emissions than its conventional format. The powders are considered vegan-friendly and lactose, hormone and soy-free; however, because they contain milk protein, the lines are not suitable for consumers with dairy allergies.
“This new category brings [our protein’s] nutritional superiority to the forefront,” Pandya said in a press release. “We developed this new product line for traditional whey protein and plant-based protein consumers alike, and above all, for anyone conscious about their health and the health of our planet.”
The new brand launches come only a week after fellow food tech ingredient provider The EVERY Company (formerly Clara Foods) partnered with cold-pressed juice company Pressed to debut a co-branded protein smoothie using EVERY’s animal-free egg white protein, ClearEgg, as its hallmark ingredient.
However, unlike Perfect Day’s powders, EVERY’s protein product is currently available only in Pressed’s ready-to-drink smoothie. The Mooless line will be available online in early 2022 according to Natreve’s website and is available in a 10-count box of single-serve, ready-to-mix packets. California Performance products are available online for pre-order and come in a 15-serving pouch for $29.99.
Competition among animal-free dairy protein makers continues to ramp up with Israel-based food tech company Imagindairy, announcing earlier today it has closed a $13 million seed round to scale its proprietary precision fermentation technology that makes animal-free milk proteins similar to Perfect Day’s flagship ingredient.
Perfect Day’s portfolio expansion comes on the heels of a string of announcements from the company including the closing of a $350 million fundraise that will enable the company to execute its new three-pronged revenue strategy, positioning the company to act as an ingredients distributor, create finished CPG products for retail and foodservice and assist other companies with food tech development.
Additionally Perfect Day also recently announced its intent to bring CPG arm The Urgent Company, entirely in-house. Over the past few months that team launched a Climate Hero Super Cake Mix under its Brave Robot brand as well as the launch of new brand Modern Kitchen, which currently sells cream cheese. The company has also hinted at the potential for an IPO in the future and, according to a recent press release, has stated that it does not plan to seek to raise additional outside capital.