Foodtech lands £2m pre-seed to replace egg whites using agricultural side streams
This article covers The Bland Company, a London-based foodtech startup, which has raised £2m in a pre-seed funding round to develop proteins made from agricultural side streams that can replace eggs in food manufacturing. The funding will be used to expand its team and accelerate development of a protein functionalisation platform intended to deliver stable, manufacturable egg-white alternatives for food manufacturers of baked goods, sauces and confectionery.
The Bland Company has raised £2 million in a pre-seed funding round to develop proteins made from agricultural side streams that can replace eggs in food manufacturing. The London-based foodtech startup says the money will be used to expand its team and accelerate development of a protein functionalisation platform aimed at delivering stable, manufacturable alternatives to egg white for products such as baked goods, sauces and confectionery.
Why it matters
Eggs are a foundational but volatile ingredient for many manufacturers. The sector uses a large share of global egg supply, and prices have swung by two to three times in the past 18 months amid avian flu outbreaks, cage-free regulation rollouts, seasonal demand shifts, climate shocks and feed-cost pressures. For food manufacturers, that volatility forces frequent reformulation and complex procurement planning. A dependable, performative replacement could reduce supply risk and simplify production for a wide range of processed foods.
Inside the product
The Bland Company converts agricultural side streams into functional proteins via a proprietary biochemical process that the founders say integrates with existing equipment. The resulting ingredients are designed to perform key egg-white functions: foaming, binding, emulsifying and high solubility. The platform is feedstock agnostic, meaning it can be adapted to different abundant plant inputs rather than relying on a single raw material, and it targets cost points manufacturers find acceptable by leveraging overlooked plant materials and established infrastructure.
The company describes its first solution as already matching or surpassing egg-white performance in lab and pilot tests and is working with food companies on trials to validate performance and identify initial commercial applications. The funding will be used to hire scientists and engineers to advance protein chemistry and application science for these trials.
Who are the investors?
The round was led by Initialized Capital and included participation from Entrepreneurs First, Transpose Platform, Behind Genius Ventures, Alumni Ventures and Vento.
Initialized Capital is a US venture firm that often backs early-stage deep-tech and software companies. Entrepreneurs First is a talent-focused startup builder that backs founders pre-team and pre-product. Transpose Platform, Behind Genius Ventures, Alumni Ventures and Vento are returning or new early-stage investors supporting the round.
In the announcement, Zoe Perret, Partner at Initialized Capital, said:
Yash and Micol have paired real scientific rigor with a platform that’s already surpassing egg-white performance and hitting the economics manufacturers actually buy. That combination is why commercial interest is moving fast and why this is such a clear infrastructure play.
If you're researching potential backers in this space:
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Founder perspective
Co-founders Yash Khandelwal and Micol Hafez bring complementary technical and product experience. Khandelwal previously worked on next-generation ingredients, launched a watermelon-seed cheese product and helped scale bioprocesses at Better Dairy in the UK. Hafez trained in biochemistry and bioengineering and has built a personalised nutrition platform focused on food science and product development. The founders say the new capital will help them recruit scientists and engineers and move their first solution through commercial validation with food manufacturers.
The bigger picture
The Bland Company sits at the intersection of alternative-protein innovation and industrial food-manufacturing needs. If workable at scale, functional proteins derived from low-value agricultural byproducts could lower exposure to traditional supply shocks and regulatory shifts that affect egg supply. The deal also signals continuing interest in UK foodtech start-ups that aim to supply critical ingredients to established manufacturers rather than only direct-to-consumer products.
As test programmes ramp up, the company’s progress will be one to watch for manufacturers and foodtech investors across the UK and Europe seeking resilient, cost-effective ingredient alternatives.
They've invested in The Bland Company
Get to know these foodtech investors
| Investor | Sector | Stage | Activity | Team | Connect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Initialized Capital | 3 investments investments | more info | |||
 Entrepreneur First (Entrepreneurs First) | 17 investments investments | 10 contacts contacts | |||
 Behind Genius Ventures | 1 investment investment | more info | |||
 Alumni Ventures | 11 investments investments | 24 contacts contacts | |||
 Vento Ventures | 5 investments investments | more info |
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