Black Sheep Foods raised a $5.25M seed on plant-based lamb and aroma-first flavor tech

Black Sheep Foods makes plant-based heritage breed meats and wild game, starting with lamb sold through restaurant partners.

Black Sheep bet lamb and game — staples the plant-based wave left behind — plus nose-detected compounds would win eaters who disliked lamb's taste.

$5.25M seed from AgFunder, Bessemer Venture Partners, New Crop Capital, Siddhi Capital, Tastybites' Meera and Ashok Vasudevan, and Smita Conjeevaram

Since 2019, Black Sheep Foods worked in R&D on patent-pending flavor compounds composed of pea protein and fatty acids. Co-founder Sunny Kumar argued plant-based meats fail by generating taste only in the mouth, a 'rudimentary way' — his company targets flavors detected in the nose, 'when people hunted and gathered'.

The plant-based lamb launched in 2021 with restaurant partners including Souvla, and in January 2022 reached Rooh, Chezchez, Beit Rima, Joyride, Mazra, Monica's and Ettan across the Bay Area. Souvla will introduce Black Sheep meatballs into its Delta Air Lines first- and business-class offerings this year. Kumar said the company had sold out through chef partners and was beating other plant-based companies' sales metrics.

Choosing lamb and game over chicken and beef was a deliberate differentiation bet in a market crowding around burgers.

The aroma-first flavor R&D is a technical moat attempt — patent-pending compounds built on pea protein and fatty acids.

Early proof came from named chef partners: a seven-year-first menu change at Souvla, sell-outs, and expansion to seven more restaurants.

Category followers fight on the incumbent's turf: entering the meat the plant-based wave forgot made Black Sheep first-to-lamb instead of another burger, and chef partners solved its sampling problem.

As of January 26, 2022, the lamb was rolling out to seven more Bay Area restaurants that month, Souvla's Delta Air Lines meatball deal was set for later in the year, and the seed was funding continued R&D into wild boar and other synthetic-biology flavors.