READY, SET, FOOD! ANNOUNCES $3 MILLION IN NEW FUNDING ROUND LED BY DANONE MANIFESTO VENTURES AND MARK CUBAN
Ready. Set. Food! to Leverage Funds to Advance its Mission of Early Allergen Introduction.
LOS ANGELES, CA—July 20, 2020 Ready. Set. Food!, a leader in childhood food allergen introduction based in Los Angeles, announced that it raised $3 million in a second funding round led by Danone Manifesto Ventures, the corporate venture arm of multinational food company Danone, investor and entrepreneur Mark Cuban, and AF Ventures (formerly AccelFoods). The investment will enable Ready. Set. Food! to continue its work to help families introduce allergens safely and easily.
Founded in 2017, Ready. Set. Food! was developed by a team of world-class physicians and parents and is advised by leading allergy experts, including Dr. Jonathan Spergel, Leading Board-Certified Pediatric Allergist and Dr. Gary Rachelefsky, the past president of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. The Company’s early allergen introduction system is a safe way to gently introduce peanut, milk and egg to babies, by simply adding a daily packet to a baby’s bottle or food.
“We founded Ready. Set. Food! to educate and bring awareness to parents everywhere about Early Allergen Introduction,” said Daniel Zakowski, CEO and Co-founder of Ready. Set. Food! “We are thrilled to be partnering with Danone Manifesto Ventures and Mark Cuban to bring critically needed attention to food allergies. Danone is one of the world’s top infant nutrition companies and we look forward to leveraging our strong relationship with the Danone Manifesto Ventures team and Mark Cuban to further our work towards Early Allergen Introduction."
“Health starts from the early days of life and as a result, we are excited to partner with Ready. Set. Food! and join them on their mission of early introduction of simple, high-quality food allergens,” said Laurent Marcel, CEO of Danone Manifesto Ventures. “Ready. Set. Food! has an outstanding team passionately committed to supporting even more parents. We look forward to working closely with them - alongside Mark Cuban and other investors – to advance their important vision.”
“I am proud to increase my prior investment from Shark Tank in Ready. Set. Food! to help with Ready. Set. Food!'s mission,” said Mark Cuban. “As a parent of a child with a severe peanut allergy, I know firsthand the impact it has on families across the country. Together, with Ready. Set. Food! we will work on making sure every parent knows about early allergen introduction."
To support its innovative business model, Ready. Set. Food! continues to enhance and innovate its product portfolio. Building on the currently available formulations, Ready. Set. Food! recently launched new Peanut Only and Peanut + Egg early allergen introduction systems to provide parents with more options to fit their family’s needs. The Peanut Only system benefits families who have children with existing, diagnosed milk and egg allergies and the Peanut + Egg system benefits families who have children with an existing, diagnosed milk allergy.
Ready. Set. Food! has also launched a donation program to assist families who have lost their income due to the coronavirus crisis by providing products for early allergen introduction. Additional information about the donation program is available at readysetfood.com/givingback.
Through the new round of fundraising, Ready. Set. Food! furthers its commitment to ensure all families have an opportunity for a healthier future.
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About Ready. Set. Food!:
Founded by a team of physicians, leading medical experts, and parents, Ready. Set. Food! is a groundbreaking early allergen introduction system. Currently, more than 1000 pediatricians and allergists recommend Ready. Set. Food!’s evidence-based approach to early allergen introduction in their practices. For more information on Ready. Set. Food!, visit www.readysetfood.com and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
About Danone Manifesto Ventures:
Danone Manifesto Ventures is the corporate venture arm of Danone, launched in 2016 with a mission to support the growth of innovative food and foodtech companies and partner with entrepreneurs that share its vision of a healthy and sustainable future. Through this venture team, Danone makes financial investments and provides strategic and operational support to its portfolio companies while preserving the autonomy required to grow their entrepreneurial projects. Danone Manifesto Ventures has invested in various companies including Harmless Harvest, Forager Project, Farmer's Fridge and Nature's Fynd in the USA, Michel et Augustin, Yooji and Agricool in France, and Epigamia in India. In 2018, it became the first corporate venture to be certified B Corp independently. (more info www.danoneventures.com)
To access the full Ready. Set. Food! press kit with images, click HERE.
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