Climax Foods Announces Rebrand to Bettani Farms, $6.5 Million in New Funding, and Industry Veteran Sandeep Patel as New CEO
October 6, 2025 | 4 min to read
Rebranded as Bettani Farms, the company raised $6.5M in a Series A led by S2G Investments and named Sandeep Patel CEO to commercialize Caseed™, a seed-derived, non-GMO protein that replicates dairy casein’s melt, stretch, and mouthfeel without dairy, nuts, or soy. Bettani’s mozzarella, feta, and other high-protein cheeses (10–20g/100g) target growing demand for allergen-free, high-protein and sustainable dairy alternatives.
The company’s refreshed brand and strategy, boosted by additional capital, will support the launch of its proprietary CaseedTM ingredient and protein-rich, dairy-free cheeses.
Berkeley, Calif. — Climax Foods, a food technology company leading breakthrough innovation in the global cheese market, announced it has rebranded to Bettani Farms and appointed former CFO of Califia Farms, Sandeep Patel, to serve as CEO and Chairman. Additionally, the company announced a $6.5 million initial closing of its Series A, led by S2G Investments (“S2G”), a multi-stage investment firm focused on scaling solutions across food and agriculture, energy, and oceans, with additional participation from Gratitude Railroad.
Bettani has developed a transformative protein-rich, non-GMO dairy-free product platform. Its mozzarella, feta, and other cheeses leverage CaseedTM, Bettani’s proprietary protein ingredient. CaseedTM mimics the functionality and mouthfeel of dairy casein (the protein that allows traditional mozzarella, cheddar and jack cheeses to melt and stretch) without the allergenicity of dairy, nuts, or soy. The ingredient also offers a creamy texture, neutral flavor profile, and white color, making a range of other protein-rich, dairy-free cheeses possible, including feta, brie, and blue. With protein made from seeds of field crops, Bettani’s cheeses are a natural, farm-sourced, allergen-free, and more cost-competitive alternative to fermentation-based attempts to develop casein equivalents. These differentiators are the inspiration behind Bettani’s tagline, “Better with Bettani.”
Bettani’s strategic company updates come at a time when consumer food preferences continue to shift based on trends including high protein, allergen-free, clean label and sustainable. In a recent survey, 71 percent of US adults said they are trying to consume more protein. Meanwhile, recently released data that showed morethan 50% of North American coffee transactions on its platform had a plant-milk associated with them, with oat milk representing some 70% of plant-milk choices and 33% of all milk. Existing dairy-free cheese options, however, have failed to gain widespread adoption due to sub-optimal texture, teeth adhesion, and lack of protein. Bettani is poised to change this with its revolutionary dairy-free cheeses that will have 10 to 20 grams of protein per 100-gram serving.
“Our goal is to do for pizza what oat milk has done for coffee,” said Patel. “Just as oat won coffee over the last five years with its neutral flavor, rich body, superior foaming and allergen profile, our Caseed-based cheeses deliver the melt, stretch, texture, and flavor consumers crave in pizza and other hot foods–without the allergens and high carbon footprint of dairy. Our Caseed protein also powers great non-melty cheeses, such as feta, adding sensory delight and protein to otherwise animal-free foods like salads and dips.”
Patel joins Bettani after his time at Califia Farms and serving as President and CFO of PopSockets, both of which have deep commitments to sustainability. He also brings extensive industry experience across packaged food, agriculture, consumer products, and sustainable technologies from his time as a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs and Barclays, where he advised food industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors. Under his leadership, Bettani will focus on commercializing Caseed and Caseed-based cheeses in partnership with frozen-food makers, food service operators, and existing dairy-free cheese brands seeking to improve their formulations.
Bettani protein-rich, dairy-free cheeses will be showcased in multiple menu applications at MISTA’s upcoming annual Growth Hack Demo Day. on October 8, 2025, in San Francisco. Bettani will also be showcasing its products at Bridge2Food in Minneapolis October 21-23. To learn more about Bettani, please visit bettani.com.
About Bettani Farms
Bettani Farms is a protein-rich, dairy-free cheese platform. Its mozzarella, feta, and other dairy-free cheeses leverage Bettani’s proprietary protein ingredient Caseed, which mimics the stretch, melt and mouthfeel of casein without dairy, nuts, or soy. To see why it’s “Better with Bettani,” please visit bettani.com.