Elo Life Systems, a Durham, NC-based ingredient company, closed an undisclosed amount in Series A funding.
The round, which brought the total to $24.5M, was led by AccelR8, Novo Holdings and DCVC Bio.The company intends to use the funds to accelerate the development of its natural, plant-based sweeteners products by advancing U.S. regulatory approvals, building pilot-scale processing capabilities, and market-testing its sweetener with consumers.Led by CEO Todd Rands, Elo focuses on advancing plant-based sweeteners by saving crops like the banana from extinction. The company produces its sweetener using existing agricultural systems without requiring additional resources and eliminates waste by ensuring all harvested material is used.The company announced it achieved strategic product development milestones related to its monk-fruit inspired sweetener produced via watermelon, and its fungal-resistant cavendish banana. These products will now advance to real-world field trial evaluations in the U.S. and Central America. And its sweetener will proceed into advanced formulation and application development.Along with the completion of its Series A round, Elo also announced the appointment of Joan Braca as its first independent director. Braca brings to Elo decades of executive leadership and board engagements with ingredient-focused companies.Braca is currently a non-executive director with Univar Solutions, and previously was president of Tate & Lyle’s Specialty Food Ingredients business, as well as vice president and general manager of their Asia Pacific region. She has also held a variety of U.S. and international leadership roles, including as the CEO of Johnson Matthey Clean Air, and executive positions with Dow Chemical and the Rohm and Haas Company.15/02/2023
