Plant-based beef substitutes have become increasingly commonplace. Even such replacements for chicken are becoming easier to find.
Now a local startup wants to do the same for lamb. If Black Sheep Foods Inc.'s product gains a following, you may someday get a shawarma, a vindaloo or a plate of meatballs with its lamb substitute rather than the real thing — if you haven't already.
Based in San Francisco, Black Sheep uses a combination of textured pea protein, high oleic sunflower oil, refined coconut oil and cocoa butter to create its artificial lamb meat, according to its website. The startup's flagship product, New Zealand heritage lamb, is already served in a handful of restaurants in its hometown.
The company has some new funding to pursue its vision. Last week, it raised a $5.25 million seed round.
Here's more on Black Sheep's round and other seed funding news from the last week:
Black Sheep Foods Inc., San Francisco, $5.25 million: Bessemer Venture Partners led the round for this developer of a plant-based lamb meat substitute.
Byteboard Inc., Fremont, $5 million: Cowboy Ventures led the round for this developer of an engineer recruiting service.
The.com Platform Inc., San Francisco, $4.4 million: NFX led the round for this provider of a website design service. Sound Ventures, VSC Ventures, Village Global and Harry Stebbings also invested.
Exabyte Inc. (dba Mat3ra), San Francisco, $3 million: Draper Associates, Serguei Beloussov and Eutopia Ventures led the round for this provider of a computer simulation service used to design and discover advanced materials.
NachoNacho Inc., Los Altos, $3 million: AltalR Capital led the funding for this developer of software to help businesses manage their cloud subscriptions. Moving Capital, PMC and S16 also invested.
