Perfect Day Accelerates Next Chapter of Impact with Pre-Series E of up to $90 Million and Leadership Updates
BERKELEY, Calif., Jan. 5, 2024 – As Perfect Day approaches a decade since it set out to create a kinder, greener tomorrow through precision fermentation, it is excited to enter its next chapter of impact and drive to profitability, bolstered by the continued support of its investors and the vision of newly elevated leadership. Today, the company announces that it has raised a pre-series E financing round of up to $90 million, led by internal investors, to support the company’s evolved strategic goals. The company has successfully de-risked its technology and is now moving to focus on executing scaled manufacturing of dairy protein from fermentation, giving it a clear path to profitability and proving unit economics for its first-of-its-kind whey protein from fermentation.
After a deep focus on securing this round of funding, this inflection point allows the company’s founders, Ryan Pandya and Perumal Gandhi, to transition away from their operational management roles to focus on future opportunities. Their vision, dedication, and unwavering commitment have been instrumental in shaping the foundation upon which Perfect Day, and an entire new ecosystem of biotech, climate tech, and food innovation, stand today. They now hand the reigns to a team poised to continue their work into a period of scaling production volumes and creating a profitable and future-focused business.
Perfect Day’s current President TM Narayan, a visionary leader with a strong track record scaling businesses both with Perfect Day and in his career, will assume the role of interim CEO. He has been integral in guiding this strategic pivot and, based on his background scaling and managing businesses across retail, CPG and similar industries, is the right person to continue in guiding the company’s continued execution of its vision. He will be supported by newly-appointed co-Chairmans of the Board, Aftab Mathur and Patrick Zhang, of Temasek and Horizons Ventures respectively.
“This has been a journey we could have only dreamed of when we first started this company in April of 2014. Because of the incredible people behind this business, we’ve de-risked world-changing technology, and we’ve brought it to life globally across over a dozen categories,” said Ryan Pandya, Perfect Day co-founder and former CEO, “Under TM’s interim leadership, Perfect Day is now in the right position for us to let the next chapter of leadership drive its path forward.”
“It is an honor to be a part of leading Perfect Day into its next chapter of impact, and to continue building a kinder, greener tomorrow with this mission-driven team” said TM Narayan, Perfect Day interim CEO, “Ryan and Perumal achieved well beyond what anyone could have imagined possible when they founded Perfect Day in 2014, and we are now laser-focused on scaling that vision and securing a resilient future for the business and our planet.”
“It has been an incredible journey with Perfect Day to date, and I’m excited to work even more closely with the company as it grows into its next chapter of impact,” added Patrick Zhang, Perfect Day co-Chairman of the Board and Investor, Horizons Ventures.
The company has entered 2024 with these strong tailwinds. It plans to announce a major CPG partner launch with its whey from fermentation in the weeks ahead, as well as new molecules which will bring the impact of precision fermentation to more products and markets. Perfect Day is thrilled to begin its second decade on the foundation of a first decade which has already changed the future of our planet for the better.
ABOUT Perfect Day, Inc.
Founded in 2014 by Ryan Pandya and Perumal Gandhi, Perfect Day is on a mission to create a kinder, greener tomorrow through precision fermentation. Leveraging expertise across biology and food innovation, Perfect Day supports companies in developing, scaling, and commercializing next-generation products that satisfy market demands and champion a path toward a sustainable future.
The company’s flagship product, the world’s first precision-fermented protein, debuted in 2020 and today can be found in animal-free ice creams, cream cheese, baked goods, and sports nutrition products across the globe. Instead of relying on cows, Perfect Day utilizes microflora to create proprietary animal-free milk protein. Perfect Day’s protein can be used across a range of products to deliver the same taste and texture while supporting the planet. An ISO compliant, third-party reviewed life cycle assessment (LCA) found that Perfect Day’s whey protein reduces blue water consumption by up to 99%, greenhouse gas emissions by up to 97%, and non-renewable energy use by up to 60%, when compared to conventional production methods.
To learn more, visit perfectday.com.
This press release may contain “Forward-Looking Statements” that include, but are not limited to statements regarding the company’s plans, objectives, beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding future events. Forward-looking statements are only predictions and not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking events and circumstances referred to herein may not occur and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated or implied in such statements due to various factors, many of which cannot be predicted.
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