Time-travelling Milkman secures € 850.000 Seed investment for future-proofing dairy
Wageningen, Netherlands, 20 February 2024
Foodtech company Time-travelling Milkman has successfully raised € 850.000 in funding to strengthen its team, scale the production and expand the market entry of Oleocream, a natural, healthy and sustainable creaminess solution. The investment comes from new investor Alianza Team and existing shareholders Oost NL, SHIFT Invest and Oterap. The capital injection follows previous investment in the company in 2021.
Time-travelling Milkman (TTM), a spin-off of Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and Startlife Alumni, aspires to disrupt dairy and vegetable oil industries. Time-travelling Milkman has launched a readily available and scalable solution, Oleocream, that can assist consumer brands to reveal their full indulgence potential.
No compromises on taste, texture and nutrition
Oleocream : TTM’s creaminess solution for healthy, nutritious and above all indulgent plant-based dairy
Time-travelling Milkman’s (TTM) mission is to bring irresistible healthy creaminess in plant-based dairy which is urgently needed for a successful transition to sustainable diets. Taste, texture and nutrition of plant-based dairy keep disappointing consumers. One can even say that this jeopardizes the ongoing plant-based transition. This is a big issue since the planet can’t sustain 10 billion people living on animal-based diets. Plant-based dairy is vital for a sustainable future. TTM provides irresistible plant creaminess to transform plant-based dairy into the yummy part of our food culture.
Innovative and easy-to-scale creaminess solution
Traditionally, yummy and fatty products (e.g. ice creams, breakfast spreads and cooking creams) are made with dairy cream. TTM develops exactly the same creaminess but starting from plant seeds. A patented process converts seeds to Oleocream. When Oleocream is then inserted in products it brings the missing creaminess and creates an unforgettable experience for the consumer, and all this without animals. TTM’s nutritious fat ingredients are made through a process that extracts natural fat droplets, called Oleosomes, from seeds. Oleosomes are natural emulsion droplets with similar functionality to that of milk fat droplets that allow Oleocream to be positioned as a dairy cream equivalent for creamy and tasty products, while having almost no environmental impact.
Investment for broad impact
Dimitris Karefyllakis, CEO and co-founder at TTM, says : "We have a clear plan on how we want to achieve our ambitions with TTM. You can't do this alone; you need partners to help you take the next step. Alianza Team, Oost NL, SHIFT Invest and Oterap are now supporting us with knowledge, network and capital, in order to optimize our production on an industrial scale and achieve all our commercial targets.”
Luis Alberto Botero CEO and President at Alianza Team, states, "Alianza Team is committed to transforming the future of the food industry, bringing healthier and more sustainable food choices for our customers. We are excited to be investing in and collaborating with Time-travelling Milkman. We are convinced that our shared core values of innovation and sustainability will the key to healthier, more nutritional foods to improve our food systems for future generations.”
Carl Heijne, team manager Food at Oost NL: “The protein transition is a major challenge of our time. But existing plant-based dairy alternatives still have many disadvantages. TTM has an innovative solution on its hands.. We’ve previously invested in TTM and the team has made great progress since then. Exemplary is that the world renowned vegetarian restaurant De Nieuwe Winkel used TTM’s ingredients to create their dishes . We are proud that as Oost NL we can help further accelerate the market introduction.” Oost NL invests from the ‘Innovatie- en Energiefonds Gelderland’ an innovation fund for SMEs in Gelderland.
About TTM : TTM is an innovative tech-driven start-up that aspires to use knowledge from the past to design the ideal dairy products of the future. TTM’s ingredients will play a pivotal role in redesigning and repositioning indulgent products coming from plants**.**
About Alianza Team : Alianza Team is a multinational leader in the lipid, nutrition and frozen bakery sector, with over 75 years of experience. With operations in Colombia, Mexico, Chile and the United States, it stands out for its extensive expertise in the development of innovative products, services and technological solutions. Committed to generating value and making a difference in the market, they have four key business units: Team Solutions, Team Foods, Team Caribe and BredenMaster. Their commitment with environmental, social and governance sustainable development shows how they are fulfilling their higher purpose of Nurturing a Better Tomorrow.
About Oost NL: Oost NL is the development company of East Netherlands. On behalf of the provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate, Oost NL strengthens the regional economy by supporting entrepreneurs contributing to sustainable innovation, investment, and internationalization. See also https://oostnl.nl/
About SHIFT Invest : SHIFT Invest funds at TTM from the Thematic Technology Transfer (TTT) grant scheme, which is built around a partnership with the four Dutch technical universities (WUR, TU/e, UT and TU Delft), TNO and RVO. The main focus of TTT is to support early-stage companies that are emerging from scientific research and development into startups with the potential to disrupt the industry.
About Oterap : Oterap is a real family business. A small team in which everyone uses his/her professional expertise to help passionate starting entrepreneurs, with their growth ambition. The intention of this ambition is to bring sustainable change to the food industry. Oterap wants to see passionate entrepreneurs in the food industry have an honest, stable and growing future.