- daring — a leader in clean plant-based chicken — announced that it has closed $8 million in Series A funding led by Maveron
daring — a leader in clean plant-based chicken — announced that it has closed $8 million in Series A funding led by Maveron. Additional investors include GoodFriends (from the founders of Allbirds, Harry’s and Warby Parker), Stray Dog Capital, Palm Tree Crew Investments (Kygo and Myles Shear), and private investors including Mike Smith (CFO of Stitch Fix) and Brian Swette (former Chair of Burger King). This funding round will be used to support the company’s mission to remove chicken from the food system and propel the brand’s unprecedented growth through marketing, innovation, and staffing.
Launched in 2018 by Ross Mackay and Eliott Kessas, daring landed in the U.S. in 2020 with a goal to create a more sustainable, delicious, and nutritious plant-based option for an audience that consumes chicken multiple times a week. daring offers frozen pieces that are 100% plant-based, 14g per serving with just five non-GMO ingredients and spices.
In connection with the investment round, daring is launching a brand new product: Breaded daring Pieces (available direct-to-consumer on daring.com). And the new Breaded pieces further daring’s mission to remove chicken from our food system and provide consumers with a wide range of plant-based chicken products that deliver superior taste, texture, and experience.
Free of GMOs and gluten, daring’s Breaded pieces are joining the existing line of high protein Original, Cajun, and Lemon & Herb flavors made from 100% plant-based ingredients. And daring’s new Breaded pieces are available online at daring.com and in daring’s new retail locations including Gelson’s, Bristol Farms, and Fresh Thyme. daring is also going to round out its growth with a national launch at Just Salad.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are always looking to partner with entrepreneurs that are building the next generation in consumer products. daring’s co-founders have a massive mission and the product exceeded our expectations in every capacity – taste, texture, and clean ingredients. We are in the early innings of the plant-based movement. The next wave of plant-based alternatives need to be significantly less processed with a cleaner ingredient profile to win the hearts, minds and stomachs of consumers. We are confident that daring will emerge as a leader in the space.”
— Dan Levitan, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Maveron
“At daring we’ve been able to create the cleanest plant-based chicken on the market that gets as close as possible to the taste and texture of the real thing. We are excited to have attracted a group of investors that have been involved in building monumental consumer businesses and we will leverage this investment to continue our growth in an ever-changing, competitive landscape. This gets us a huge step closer to mitigating the negative impact of the poultry industry on the planet and human health.”
— daring CEO and Co-Founder, Ross Mackay
