Fonterra invests in German food start-up firm YFood

New Zealand-based dairy co-operative Fonterra is reportedly one of the several companies that invested €15m ($16.3m) in German food start-up YFood.

According to Reuters, YFood raised €15m in a Series B funding round led by London-based venture capital firm Felix Capital.

Other companies that invested in the food start-up firm include Five Seasons Ventures and New Ground Ventures.

However, YFood did not disclose the investment made by each company.

Established in 2017, YFood produces vegetarian bars, drinks and powders as snacks and meals, to provide its customers with a balanced food on-the-go.

YFood’s products are currently distributed in more than 13,000 retail outlets across European countries.

The company noted that it will use the funds to further expand its presence in the European markets and will implement Fonterra’s expertise in ingredients, as well as intellectual property and patents to invest more in research and product development.

The German company also recently launched an online shop in the UK.

YFood co-founder Noël Bollmann was quoted by Reuters as saying: “This strategic partnership enables us to utilise Fonterra’s knowledge to continuously improve our existing products in terms of taste, nutritional value and added benefits like we have done in the past.”

Last February, Fonterra invested in Ginkgo Bioworks’ alternative proteins company called Motif Ingredients through a Series A financing round.

Motif Ingredients raised $90m in the funding round.

In addition to Fonterra, companies that invested in Motif include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Louis Dreyfus Company and Viking Global Investors.