{"id":340085,"date":"2017-05-04T22:02:00","date_gmt":"2017-05-04T14:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=1485301"},"modified":"2017-05-04T22:02:00","modified_gmt":"2017-05-04T14:02:00","slug":"despite-setbacks-soylent-drinks-up-50-million-in-fresh-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/despite-setbacks-soylent-drinks-up-50-million-in-fresh-funding\/","title":{"rendered":"Despite setbacks, Soylent drinks up $50 million in fresh funding"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Soylent<\/a>, a four-year-old, L.A.-based company that\u2019s\u00a0centered around what it calls a meal replacement drink, has taken its licks in recent years. \u00a0But a group of investors is betting Soylent\u2019s\u00a0best days are ahead of the company; they just provided it\u00a0with $50 million in fresh funding in a round that brings Soylent\u2019s\u00a0total funding to $74.5 million.<\/p>\n

GV\u2019s Andy Wheeler \u2014 who focuses in part on GV\u2019s food and agriculture-related investments\u00a0\u2014 led the round and joins Soylent\u2019s board of directors as part of the deal. Other participants in the new funding include Tao Capital Partners\u00a0and earlier backers Lerer Hippeau Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz.<\/p>\n

Silicon Valley is notorious for funding companies that are the subject of ridicule<\/a>. Even still, this new funding may\u00a0take some industry watchers by surprise.<\/p>\n

From the outset, Soylent\u00a0has been an easy target for people who enjoy food. When Soylent CEO Rob Rhinehart appeared on comedian Stephen Colbert\u2019s show a few\u00a0years ago, Colbert asked, \u201cWhat was the inspiration for this? Did you see someone in a coma with a feeding tube, and you thought, \u2018I\u2019ll have what he\u2019s having<\/a>\u2018?\u201d<\/p>\n

Customers lost their humor last year\u00a0when\u00a0they became violently ill<\/a> after consuming Soylent\u2019s powder mix and protein bars. The company, which determined the cause was\u00a0algae-based ingredients<\/a>, quickly reformulated the powder. It\u00a0has yet to re-introduce its bars.<\/p>\n

Just last week<\/a>, Soylent received yet more unwanted attention after issuing a voluntary recall. The reason, said the company; it discovered\u00a0that a small amount of milk product may have slipped into some batches of one of its powders that\u2019s advertised as\u00a0free of lactose and milk products.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In a conversation with TechCrunch\u00a0yesterday, Rhinehart said the company has learned from its mistakes and that it\u2019s \u201cgone a long way in improving our ingredient and supplier diligence.\u201d<\/p>\n

He elaborated, adding that\u00a0Soylent\u00a0\u2014 whose makeup is\u00a0somewhat hard for the non-science-minded to decipher; along with modified food starch, its powder includes ferrous gluconate, thiamin hydrochloride, and 38 other ingredients\u00a0\u2014 also features new ingredients and a much \u201clarger and robust quality team\u201d to \u201cmake sure nothing like [its previous mishaps] happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seemingly, the bad press hasn\u2019t slowed down the company as much as one might think. Rhinehart wouldn\u2019t discuss specific numbers, but asked about the company\u2019s sales, he said that net revenue nearly doubled in the first quarter over the same quarter last year.<\/p>\n

In fact, he said, the company has raised this\u00a0large new round to fuel several\u00a0new initiatives.<\/p>\n

The first is getting Soylent into the hands of many more consumers by greatly expanding on where it\u2019s available to buy. Whereas currently, Soylent shoppers\u00a0buy its products at its site and on Amazon exclusively, Rhinehart said Soylent\u00a0will soon be available in grocery stores, convenience stores and \u201cmass market\u201d retailers. (We suspect he means Target and Cosco, but asked about this, he would say only that Soylent \u201cis working on a number of partnerships.\u201d)<\/p>\n

Soylent \u2014 which currently sells its original powder, along with four flavors of drinks, including more newly cacao- and nectar- flavored products\u00a0\u2014 is also going global, said Rhinehart.<\/p>\n

And the\u00a050-person company, which currently manufactures its goods at an \u201cFDA-certified facility\u201d in Missouri, will be seeking out back-up facilities where it can churn out even more of its products, assuming a newer, broader base of customers discover Soylent\u00a0on their retail shelves.<\/p>\n

Asked whether Soylent\u2019s\u00a0recalled bars might make a comeback, or whether the company plans to take the wraps off any new products soon, Rhinehart\u00a0\u2014 who says that he still guzzles\u00a0\u201cone to two\u201d Soylent drinks each morning\u00a0\u2014\u00a0said it\u2019s currently\u00a0is working on a number of \u201cnew innovations in product categories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Featured Image: Getty Images<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\" Soylent, a four-year-old, L.A.-based company that’s\u00a0centered around what it calls a meal replacement drink, has taken its licks in recent years. \u00a0But a group of investors is betting Soylent’s\u00a0best days are ahead of the company; they just provided it\u00a0with $50 million in fresh funding in a round that brings Soylent’s\u00a0total funding to $74.5 million. GV’s Andy… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n

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