Plonts Plant-Based Cheese Launches with $12M Seed Round in New York City, San Francisco

OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Plonts has debuted their first product, an aged plant-based cheddar, at select restaurants in New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area. This launch comes after raising a $12 million seed round and opening a pilot plant in Oakland, California.

Plonts is making a new category of plant-based foods using an ancient biotechnology: fermentation. They use the same process that turns milk into cheese to turn plants into cheese, but they start with soy milk instead of cow's milk. A specially developed blend of cultures and enzymes create tangy, cheesy flavors as the cheese ages. The result is a bold cheddar that slices, shreds, and melts.

Plonts was founded in 2019 by Nathaniel Chu and Josh Moser. After completing his PhD at MIT studying the human gut microbiome, Chu wanted to apply his love for microbes to creating fermented foods from sustainable, nutritious, and affordable plants. Plonts was born in the corner of a pizza restaurant, where he began experimenting with making his own plant-based cheeses. Moser has spent his career as an operator and investor in early-stage climate and sustainability startups.

Now out of stealth, Plonts has opened a pilot plant and announced a previously undisclosed $12M seed round. This round was led by Lowercarbon Capital, a ClimateTech venture capital fund with >$2B in assets under management. Plonts secured additional investment from Peter Rahal's Litani Ventures, Accelr8, Pillar, Ponderosa Ventures, and a number of angel investors.

Plonts was founded for serious reasons: cows are responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than global aviation and are the world's leading cause of deforestation. But Plonts has also partnered with comedian Kate Berlant on a launch video to tell people that eating Plonts won't actually save the planet. This video parodies the conundrum of an individual taking small actions in the face of a problem as vast as climate change and seeks to find levity in the existential burden placed on them. The message is part of Plonts' thesis for change: use humor to bring attention to a serious problem. Plonts hopes that by not taking this problem and themselves too seriously, people will do the opposite. 

If reverse psychology doesn't work out, they hope people will just eat some cheese.

Beginning on August 7, Plonts Cheddar will be available in tailormade dishes at select restaurants in New York City and San Francisco. Each of the dishes is plant-based and was developed specifically for the cheddar's debut. Plonts worked closely with the chef team at each restaurant.

"As a chef, I believe it is increasingly important to understand how and when meat and dairy alternatives can supplement your menu," says Brandon Jew, Moongate Lounge & Mister Jiu's Founder and Executive Chef. "There is already a rich history in Chinese cuisine that leans heavily into the creativity of using soy milk. Plonts is a new product with old world sensibilities, providing yet another way to enjoy soy milk. It maintains the cheesy, melty properties of a cheddar and compels you to consider it in place of dairy cheese. I believe in the product and now serve it on our Moongate Lounge menu."

Below is the full list of dishes available at partner restaurants in New York City and San Francisco.

• New York City:
  • Court Street Grocers (485 Court Street location)
    • Veggie Classic Sandwich: a mushroom and black bean patty, Plonts plant-based cheddar, full sour pickles, vegan mayonnaise, white onion, and romaine on a white bun
    • Image (credit: Lucy Schaeffer)
  • S&P Lunch
    • Classic Grilled Cheese: Plonts plant-based cheddar on white bread
    • Image (credit: Lucy Schaeffer)
• San Francisco:
  • Shuggie's
    • "Pizza Puffs" filled with Plonts plant-based cheddar, mushrooms and pesto, served with a ranch dipping sauce.
    • Image (credit: Erin Ng)
  • Moongate Lounge
    • Grilled Cheese: Plonts plant-based cheddar, bok choy, Fresno chili mornay sauce, bright fermented cabbage, and roasted maitake mushrooms. Sandwiched between housemade milk bread or vegan scallion sesame bing.
    • Image (credit: Erin Ng)

Lovely's in Oakland will also be serving burgers with Plonts cheddar.

Plonts plans to introduce additional products and launch in additional markets and retail locations in the future.

About Plonts
Plonts is making a new category of plant-based cheeses, using the same ancient process that turns milk into cheese to turn plants into cheese: cultures and enzymes. They just start with plant milk instead of cow's milk.

Plonts was founded to fight climate change and mass extinctions. Meat and dairy represent ~15% of global greenhouse gas emissions and are the world's leading cause of deforestation. Plonts was started in 2019 and is based in Oakland, California.

Team

Josh Moser, Co-Founder and co-CEO
Josh Moser is a co-founder and co-CEO at Plonts. He has a background as an operator and investor in early-stage climate and sustainability companies—specifically, ones that start with the letter P. Most recently, he was a partner at Petri, an early-stage venture capital fund, where he led investments in pre-seed and seed-stage companies in food, agriculture, materials, and carbon removal. Before that, Josh was the Chief of Staff at Phylagen, a venture-backed company working on sustainability applications of the environmental microbiome. At Plonts, he leads the team's commercial efforts.

Nathaniel Chu, Co-Founder and co-CEO
Nathaniel is a co-founder and co-CEO at Plonts. He has a background in ecology, evolution, and bioengineering, fueled by a childhood infatuation with bugs. He was previously a PhD student at MIT, where he studied gut microbiome effects on inflammatory diseases, and a Fulbright Fellow with the Smithsonian Institution, where he studied the effects of climate change on Panamanian coral reefs. He was less successful at all of these things than he was at yelling songs as a summer camp counselor. He leads research and development of novel fermented foods at Plonts.

Plonts has a strong team of advisors including Scott Norton (founder of Sir Kensington's), Bernhard Van Lengerich (former Chief Scientific Officer at General Mills), Peter Rahal (founder of RXBAR), and Brandon Jew (Head Chef of Mister Jiu's, Moongate Lounge, and Mamahuhu), among others.

Imagery and brand assets can be found here.

For more information, visit Plonts' website, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok.

SOURCE Plonts