USA – Ready, Set, Food!, a leader in childhood food allergy prevention based in USA, has raised US$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 prevent 200,000 babies every year from developing severe food allergies to peanut, egg, and milk.
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 in order to help prevent food allergies, by simply adding a daily packet to a baby’s bottle or food.
The data demonstrates that this process can help reduce the risk of developing food allergies by up to 80%.
“We founded Ready, Set, Food! to educate and bring awareness to parents everywhere that through early allergen introduction, we could significantly reduce the risk of developing food allergies,” 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 helping to prevent babies from developing most severe food allergies,” he added.
Laurent Marcel, CEO of Danone Manifesto Ventures said, “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 to reduce food allergies through the early introduction of simple, high-quality food allergens.
“Ready, Set, Food! has an outstanding team passionately committed to supporting even more parents in further reducing food allergies among babies. We look forward to working closely with them – alongside Mark Cuban and other investors – to advance their important vision and help enhance the health of future generations.”
“I am proud to increase my prior investment from Shark Tank in Ready, Set, Food! to help with the fight against food allergies,” 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 and has the ability to protect their children from food allergies,” he added.
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 to help prevent their babies from developing severe food allergies. 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 preventing severe food allergies and ensuring all families have an opportunity for a healthier future.
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