Reduced, a Copenhagen-based foodtech startup just closed a €385k pre-seed round, which was led by Impact Capital Partners with Rockstart as co-investor. The startup plans to use the funding to build a production facility for a new product line of natural flavor enhancers, which they have been testing at the Technological Institute of Denmark.
Founded in 2020, Reduced creates food products from upcycled produce with a focus on deep and intense umami flavors. In less than a year, they have taken four products to market and obtained a noticeable distribution in Danish retail. The young company has created a supply chain of upcycled produce by collaborating with major Danish food and agriculture companies. Most importantly, Reduced has created a unique process of making flavor enhancers from upcycled animal protein ready to scale. The organic and clean label flavor enhancers generate a significant rise in umami when added to foods. It could be a gamechanger in the $160 billion global market of soups, sauces and condiments.
With the fresh capital, the Reduced team will also start a broader distribution of their existing products made from upcycled produce. These products will be category-defining and make a significant impact in the growing segment of upcycled food products.
Commenting on the round, Mark Durno, Managing Partner AgriFood, Rockstart stated: “Side streams within the food industry are currently a huge contributor to food waste. Reduced has shown that these side streams also represent an underutilised resource as ingredients for quality products. When we initially invested, we were impressed with how the founders, Emil and William, had been able to develop and launch products with lightning speed. That intensity has continued, and we are delighted to continue to back Reduced as they lead the way in bringing high quality upcycled food products to the market under the Reduced brand.”
Reduced Co-founder Emil Munck de Voos commented: “We want to change how the world sees food resources, and we believe we can do this by creating extremely well-tasting upcycled food products. The funding will allow us to build the production plant for the flavor enhancers and scale our distribution. We are excited to have Impact Capital Partners and Rockstart on board and our private investors. It’s a huge opportunity to have such a strong group of investors who understand food production and taste’s importance in the future of food.”
Reduced is a portfolio company of Rockstart’s AgriFood fund. In May 2021, Rockstart announced the closing of the fund at €22 million with the participation of Vaekstfonden’s Green Future Fund, alongside informal investors and global dairy cooperative Arla Foods.
