PlantBaby, a Hawaii-based plant-based kids nutrition brand, announced this week it has closed a $4 million seed round led by Big Idea Ventures and The Fund LA.
The financing also included other institutional investors such as Two Culture Cap, Springbank Collective, Western Technology Investment and Niche Capital, as well as individuals such as Athletic Greens president and COO Kat Cole and actor Daniella Monet.
Founded in 2020 by husband and wife team Lauren and Alex Abelin, PlantBaby launched its first product line, organic non-dairy milk brand Kiki Milk, online in December 2021. The drinks are organic, made with whole food ingredients and contain no additives, refined sugars, gums, GMOs or preservatives. Available in Original and Chocolate flavors, Kiki Milk sells for $35 per 12-pack of 8 oz. cartons.
Speaking to BevNET today, the co-founders said they began PlantBaby after the birth of their first child, Alakai, who was diagnosed with colic, a syndrome where an otherwise healthy infant cries for prolonged periods of time. After a doctor recommended removing dairy and soy from his diet, they saw an absence of clean label, plant-based options for young children. Initially, the company planned to launch with a plant-based infant formula, but according to Lauren Abelin, that product must undergo clinical trials and receive FDA approval. While a formula line is still in the works, the company has opted to focus first on the kids drink category with Kiki Milk, where plant-based milk options are still limited.
“As Alakai grew and became one-and-a-half, the company grew too,” she said. “We zoomed out even more and saw that for kids in general there’s really nothing specifically made for their growing bodies that is extremely nutrient dense and clean label in the plant-based, non-dairy space, so that’s when Kiki Milk was born.”
PlantBaby is the first CPG venture for the co-founders; Alex Abelin previously co-founded tech companies LQD WiFi and LiquidTalent and prior to that served as a public affairs manager at Google, while Lauren Abelin worked in the nonprofit sector as a social emotional learning specialist helping children manage anxiety. Through his previous ventures, Alex Abelin said he has ample experience raising capital and purposely sought out investors with food and beverage expertise to help the company establish itself.
Big Idea Ventures – which has invested in plant-based brands such as Uproot, No Evil Foods, and The Mushroom Meat Co. among others – is poised to help connect PlantBaby to retailers and other potential partners, Alex Abelin said, while The Fund LA has opened up “access to the entrepreneurial community,” he said. As well, individuals like Kat Cole will help to raise brand awareness in addition to offering food and beverage specific guidance.
“This is my third company and I’ve been fundraising for 10 years,” Alex Abelin said. “I know the benefit of bringing in really strategic capital and that’s what we really focused on with this round; People that we like, people that we trust, people that can help us move the needle on our business objectives. I give ourselves a report card score of an A on that, we did a good job there.”
Kiki Milk is currently available online direct-to-consumer and through Thrive Market and Amazon. PlantBaby is now looking to launch the brand in retail with several small natural channel grocers in the Pacific Northwest, Alex Abelin said. The company will focus primarily on growing within the natural channel for the near future with hopes to expand in mass and club down the line.
Although plant-based milk brand Ripple has had a kids line since 2017 and medical-grade brand Kate Farms produces a pediatric formula, Alex Abelin said there is no mainstream organic option for kids within the category. Kiki Milk, he noted, is made with a proprietary blend of superfood powders with ingredients including oats, hemp seed, pumpkin seed, coconut, seaweed and banana. The drinks were formulated in partnership with a pediatrician and children’s nutritionist and the packaging also includes a “Climate Friendly” callout.
“We’re happy to be the first certified organic whole food option,” Alex Abelin said. “If you just read the ingredient labels of those that are in our category versus us, it’s pretty clear which is the healthier, more suitable option for human needs. So we kind of feel like although there are other companies and brands thinking about the space and evolving and catching up to the needs of consumers, we still feel like we’re kind of the first doing it, at least in our way.”