Joywell Foods raises funds to finance business growth

Food technology company Joywell Foods has raised $6.9m in a Series A funding round to expand its business.

Previously known as Miraculex, the company manufactures food products that are based on naturally sweet proteins sourced from fruits.

The funding will be used to fast-track the development of its sweet protein platform, enhance its offerings portfolio and expand R&D operations.

The funding round was led by Evolv Ventures, a venture fund supported by Kraft Heinz.

Evolv Ventures founder and partner Steve Sanger said: “We believe in the sweet protein space and its application in consumer products.

“Joywell Foods is a thought leader in this area and is pioneering solutions that enable great taste and reduce mainstream sugar consumption. The company has the potential to make a big impact on the sweet protein space.”

Sanger has also joined Joywell Foods’ board as its new member.

Additionally, Joywell Foods intends to test several consumer offerings through direct-to-consumer (D2C) and limited retail.

Until now, the company is said to have raised a capital of $13.2m through funding rounds.

In addition to Evolv Ventures, Khosla Ventures and SOSV, which participated in the Joywell Foods seed round, also participated in the latest funding round, along with Alumni Ventures Group and other investors.

Joywell Foods CEO Karen Huh said: “Our team is excited to bring sweet proteins to commercial scale with the support of our newest investor, Evolv Ventures. These funds bring us one step closer to our vision of eliminating the prevalence of sugar in our diet.

“Sweet proteins – many of which are over 1,000 times sweeter than sugar – can reduce how much sugar we consume in our daily lifestyle.”