The Single Origin Food Co (Sofco) has secured US$1.1 million in seed funding, which will support the launch of Vegan Un-Honey, a plant-based honey substitute. 

Made with natural, plant-based ingredients and fortified with organic flower pollen, Vegan Un-Honey delivers a superfood alternative to traditional honey, according to the company.

Belal Elbana, CEO of Sofco, says the company objective is “to fix the food chain.”

“Our model of working collaboratively with our farming partners actively reduces greenhouse gas emissions, increases biodiversity and removes animal use from the food chain. It also provides full product traceability to our customers to ensure we deliver the highest quality, best value food to market,” he says. 

“Our seed round will support the Vegan Un-Honey rollout and accelerate product development.”

The company’s product road map includes the Vegan Un-Honey + (with added flower pollen), Nada (sugar-free) and Gold (Maple), Elbana explains, citing the massive potential for further “Un” plant-based natural products and + (plus) fortification using organic flower pollen and wild nutrition.

Disrupting traditional honey arena
Sofco’s Vegan Un-Honey was launched nationwide in Sprouts Farmers Market and is now being rolled out across Whole Foods, Natural Grocers and Safeway Albertsons stores.

The round was led by A’Z Angels, the Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in seasoned founders building disruptive innovation.

“Our portfolio is primarily technology companies. However, Sofco and Vegan Un-Honey are poised to disrupt the food industry with innovation at the heart of everything they do,” says Amr Abdelaziz, managing partner, A’Z Angels. 

“We are a strong believer in sustainability which is a key driver of innovation. The US vegan food market is estimated to be worth US$24.3 billion by 2026. We see high growth potential for Sofco,” he notes. 

Currently, the global honey industry – valued at US$9 billion in 2020 – faces significant sustainability challenges because of its negative impact on bee diversity.

This opens opportunities in the alternative space to develop solutions to meet consumer demand for sustainable, animal-free products that do not negatively impact the environment. 

A buzz around vegan honey
Sofco establishes long-term partnerships with farmers who share mutual commitments to sustainable and ethical practices. They sell to over 3,500 supermarkets across the US with their existing rice, salt and sugars portfolio. 

In the same arena, California-based start-up MeliBio makes real honey without bees and has recently closed US$850,000 in a pre-seed round funding edging it closer to having its first product on the market, slated for late 2021.

Meanwhile, yesterday (June 28) European agriculture ministers agreed on the need to set a specific goal to protect honey bees from pesticides.

Member states considered guidance provided by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), outlining a new approach to assessing the impact of pesticides on honey bee populations. 

This approach would set the maximum reduction in colony size at 10 percent across the whole of the EU.