USA – California based plant-based foods company, Hodo, has announced a Series B investment from venture capital firm, Renewal Funds.
The company makes a range of organic soy-based products ranging from plain firm tofu to fully cooked, ready-to-eat meals of flavoured tofu cubes as well as tofu vegetable burgers among a dozen other products.
Hodo intends to use the financing in expanding its production capacity to meet escalating demand from the retail marketplace. The company has launched its products in more than 1,200 Publix Supermarkets at the beginning of 2020.
Hodo products are now available in more than 6,000 stores in North America, twice the size of its retail footprint of a year ago.
In June last year, the company was cited in a Nielsen Data report produced for Whole Foods as one of the fastest growing companies in the plant-based food category, which includes competitors like Sweet Earth, Wildwood and Tofuky.
“As an active investor in the plant-based category, we’ve tracked Hodo’s brand expansion and momentum closely,” says Kate Storey, Partner of Renewal Funds.
“Hodo’s growth and popularity is rooted in organic ingredients and culinary innovation that sets it apart from the competition and resonates with top chefs and retail consumers alike.
“We share the values that have earned Hodo such a loyal following and are proud to support the team in this exciting stage of growth.”
With the closing of the funding, Paul Richardson, Managing Partner of Renewal Funds, will join Hodo’s Board of Directors.
“Renewal Funds’ eye for category-disrupting brands and its track-record of execution makes their team ideal to work with in expanding Hodo’s growth in North America,” says Minh Tsai, Founder of Hodo.
“Renewal is one of the original impact funds, and we were pleased to find a partner with a social and environmental mission that aligns with our own.
“We are excited to have such a selective, high-integrity partner on board that gets our strategic goals and has the experience to help us achieve them.”
