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San Francisco - MeliBio, the world’s first company focused on creating honey without bees, is partnering with Narayan Foods to launch their products across 75,000 European stores. The first-of-its-kind partnership will bring MeliBio’s plant-based honey made without bees product line to store shelves under Narayan Foods’ Better Foodie brand, with products expected to begin their rollout in the first quarter of 2023.
MeliBio’s plant-based honey, which was recently selected for the prestigious SIAL Innovation Selection 2022, will feature plant-based ingredients that are naturally found in honey. The plant-based honey provides a sustainable alternative for consumers looking to make environmentally-conscious and healthy choices for themselves and their families. The product performs, tastes, and can be used in culinary applications as a direct 1:1 substitute for conventional honey. The product, which ships in early 2023, has already shown high demand by retailers all over Europe, and will also be available for private label opportunities, using MeliBio’s technology and Narayan Foods’ operational capabilities.
"As a food innovation platform, Narayan Foods is constantly on the lookout for novel sustainable products that would revolutionize the market. Just by tasting MeliBio's incredible plant-based honey, we knew we had discovered an innovation that would leave a distinctive mark in the industry. We're thrilled to bring the world's first plant-based honey to every European household and establish it as the new favorite sweetener”, added Mario Brumat, founder and CEO of Narayan Foods.
“Growing up and building my early career in one of the world’s leaders in honey production, Serbia, it is with great excitement that I bring our innovative MeliBio plant-based honey to Europe. We are proud to partner with Narayan Foods, one of Europe’s most respected sustainable foods producers, to bring our delicious and sustainable products to Europeans everywhere. We are thankful to our investors for recognizing the progress our team has made and for providing the additional capital to scale our company” shared Darko Mandich, CEO & Co-Founder of MeliBio and former conventional honey industry executive.
MeliBio’s plant-based honey addresses critical issues facing the commercial honey industry, including the use of pesticides and adulterants and the steep decline in bee populations due to extreme weather events. By creating a sustainable path forward, MeliBio’s award winning plant-based honey provides a solution to the often overlooked crisis facing the $10 billion dollar commercial honey industry.
MeliBio also announces an additional $2.2 million investment into the company from existing investors, including Collaborative Fund and Siddhi Capital, as well from new investor The Greenbaum Foundation led by Jim Greenbaum, executive producer of The Game Changers and Seaspiracy. The company’s total funding up to date reaches $9.4 million.
Craig Shapiro, Founder of Collaborative Fund, who recently joined the company’s Board of Directors shared, "The conventional honey industry is not sustainable. Bee populations have seen steep declines, threatening to damage our broader food and agricultural systems. We were thrilled to meet Darko and the team, who have created a product that is simultaneously healthier, more delicious, and sustainable. We love backing teams creating products that make the right choice, the easy choice."
MeliBio was founded in 2020 in Berkeley, USA by scientist and amateur chef Aaron Schaller, PhD, and honey industry executive Darko Mandich. The company’s first product, a plant-based honey ingredient for B2B and foodservice, was unveiled in October 2021 after a blind taste test of industry leaders revealed that the honey was indistinguishable from standard honey, and was previously named TIME’s Best Inventions 2021. MeliBio products have been featured across top American restaurants, including Eleven Madison Park by Chef Daniel Humm and BAIA, formerly by Chef Matthew Kenney.