‘Carbon neutral’ dairy co raises $12m
Additional investors in the round include Japanese firm Global Brain, its CVC partners Kirin Holdings Company, Limited and Norinchukin Bank, and Craig Shapiro of New York-based Collaborative Fund.
The SCS certified carbon neutral brand - which is distributed nationally by UNFI and KeHE and is now available at 2,000+ grocery stores including Whole Foods Market, Sprouts and Target - works directly with dairy farmers to reduce emissions, then purchases carbon credits from US dairy farmers "who turn cow emissions into renewable energy" [turning manure into energy via anaerobic digestion] to offset the balance, says founder and CEO Marcus Lovell Smith, whose family has a dairy farm in New Hampshire.
While some commentators have been skeptical about any attempt to position dairy milk as an environmentally-friendly choice, most Americans still drink cow’s milk, so trying to give consumers better options within a category they are reluctant to give up seemed like a pragmatic way to make a difference, Smith told FoodNavigator-USA in a recent interview.
