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Better Dairy
Animal-free dairy products using precision fermentation technology
About Better Dairy
Better Dairy is a food technology company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that creates animal-free dairy products. The company was founded in January 2020 by Jevan Nagarajah (CEO) and Dr. Christopher Reynolds (CTO), who met through the Entrepreneur First program. Nagarajah has a background in investment banking and over 15 years of experience in the tech industry, including roles at Rocket Internet and SumUp, and previously founded a cloud kitchen startup. His interest in the intersection of food and technology led him to explore precision fermentation as a solution to the unsustainable practices of the traditional dairy industry.
Read full description
The company utilizes precision fermentation to produce dairy products that are molecularly identical to their traditional counterparts without involving animals. This process involves genetically engineering microorganisms like yeast, which are then cultivated in fermenters with water and sugars to produce specific dairy proteins, such as casein. This core technology allows Better Dairy to create cheeses, yogurts, and ice creams that replicate the taste, melt, stretch, and texture of conventional dairy. The resulting products are free from lactose, antibiotics, and hormones. The company reports its method reduces greenhouse gas emissions and water usage by over 90% compared to traditional dairy farming.
Better Dairy operates on a business-to-business (B2B) model, with plans to supply its animal-free proteins to existing food manufacturers and cheesemakers. The company is starting with high-value proteins like casein for cheese production and bioactive proteins like Osteopontin, which has applications in infant and adult nutrition. Since its founding, Better Dairy has raised over $24 million in funding, including a £1.6 million seed round in December 2020 and a $22 million Series A round in February 2022. Key investors include Happiness Capital, CPT Capital, Stray Dog Capital, Redalpine, and Vorwerk Ventures.
At a glance
- Status
- Operational
- Founded
- 2019
- Headquarters
- London, United Kingdom
- Employees
- 28
- Open positions
- None listed
- Dealroom signal
- 64.2/100
- Sub-industry
- Innovative Food
- Sector
- Food, Biotechnology, Synthetic Biology, Alternative Protein, Sustainable Development Goals, Dairy Substitute, Fermentation, Climate Tech, Hard Tech
- Technology
- Hardware, Deep Tech
- Business model
- Manufacturing
- Client focus
- b2b, b2c
Knowledge graph
More headlines
Funding history
Company financing events and reported valuations.
| Deal type | Date | Amount | Valuation | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GRANT✓Other financing | Oct 2024 | $162K | — | UK Research and Innovation | — |
| SERIES A✓Equity / VC | Feb 2022 | $22M | $88M | Acequia Capital · Stray Dog Capital · Manta Ray Ventures · Vorwerk Ventures | ↗ |
Growth signals
Latest recorded traffic for Better Dairy is 420 monthly website visits, up 250% over the last three months. Better Dairy's team grew 3.7% over the past year.
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Investments and acquisitions
Recent portfolio relationships for companies that also act as investors or acquirers.
Investors
From Dealroom's funding and investor records, grouped by the round each investor first entered.
Seed6 investors entered at this stage
Entrepreneurs First
Happiness Capital
CPT Capital
Veg Capital
Stray Dog Capital
UK Research and Innovation
Series A5 investors entered at this stage
Redalpine
Acequia Capital
Manta Ray Ventures
Vorwerk Ventures
Nadine Geiser
Other known investors4 additional known investors
Tech Nation
MK Venture Capital
StartLife
Unreasonable Group
Source: Dealroom Talent Intelligence.
Global footprint
team presence
Market sentiment
An AI-synthesised read of the highest-engagement posts about Better Dairy on X, ranked by likes and reposts, corporate channels excluded.
Reading the room on X — pulling top posts and synthesizing themes…
Source: X recent search ranked by engagement (likes + retweets) · Synthesis by Claude · Cached for 1 hour
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