LOS ANGELES — Ready, Set, Food!, a leader in childhood food allergy prevention based in Los Angeles, announced that it raised $3 million in a second funding round led by Danone Manifesto Ventures, the corporate venture arm of multinational food company Danone, investor and entrepreneur Mark Cuban, and AF Ventures (formerly AccelFoods). The investment will enable Ready, Set, Food! to continue its work to help prevent 200,000 babies every year from developing severe food allergies to peanut, egg, and milk.
Founded in 2017, Ready, Set, Food! was developed by a team of world-class physicians and parents and is advised by leading allergy experts, including Dr. Jonathan Spergel, Leading Board-Certified Pediatric Allergist, and Dr. Gary Rachelefsky, the past president of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. The Company’s early allergen introduction system is a safe way to gently introduce peanut, milk and egg to babies in order to help prevent food allergies, by simply adding a daily packet to a baby’s bottle or food. The data demonstrates that this process can help reduce the risk of developing food allergies by up to 80%.
“We founded Ready, Set, Food! to educate and bring awareness to parents everywhere that through early allergen introduction, we could significantly reduce the risk of developing food allergies,” said Daniel Zakowski, CEO and Co-founder of Ready, Set, Food! “We are thrilled to be partnering with Danone Manifesto Ventures and Mark Cuban to bring critically needed attention to food allergies. Danone is one of the world’s top infant nutrition companies and we look forward to leveraging our strong relationship with the Danone Manifesto Ventures team and Mark Cuban to further our work towards helping to prevent babies from developing most severe food allergies.”
“Health starts from the early days of life and as a result, we are excited to partner with Ready, Set, Food! and join them on their mission to reduce food allergies through the early introduction of simple, high-quality food allergens,” said Laurent Marcel, CEO of Danone Manifesto Ventures. “Ready, Set, Food! has an outstanding team passionately committed to supporting even more parents in further reducing food allergies among babies. We look forward to working closely with them – alongside Mark Cuban and other investors – to advance their important vision and help enhance the health of future generations.”
“I am proud to increase my prior investment from Shark Tank in Ready, Set, Food! to help with the fight against food allergies,” said Mark Cuban. “As a parent of a child with a severe peanut allergy, I know firsthand the impact it has on families across the country. Together, with Ready, Set, Food! we will work on making sure every parent knows about early allergen introduction and has the ability to protect their children from food allergies.”
To support its innovative business model, Ready, Set, Food! continues to enhance and innovate its product portfolio. Building on the currently available formulations, Ready, Set, Food! recently launched new Peanut Only and Peanut + Egg early allergen introduction systems to provide parents with more options to fit their family’s needs. The Peanut Only system benefits families who have children with existing, diagnosed milk and egg allergies and the Peanut + Egg system benefits families who have children with an existing, diagnosed milk allergy.
Ready, Set, Food! has also launched a donation program to assist families who have lost their income due to the coronavirus crisis by providing products to help prevent their babies from developing severe food allergies. Additional information about the donation program is available at readysetfood.com/givingback.
Through the new round of fundraising, Ready, Set, Food! furthers its commitment to preventing severe food allergies and ensuring all families have an opportunity for a healthier future.
About Ready, Set, Food!:
Founded by a team of physicians, leading medical experts, and parents, Ready, Set, Food! is a groundbreaking solution to childhood food allergy prevention, making it easy for families everywhere to significantly reduce the risk of developing food allergies. Currently, more than 500 pediatricians and allergists recommend Ready, Set, Food!’s evidence-based approach to early allergen introduction in their practices. Although food allergies are on the rise, Ready, Set, Food!’s goal is to help reverse that trend and give families everywhere a head start towards an allergy-free future. For more information on Ready, Set, Food!, visit www.readysetfood.com and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
About Danone Manifesto Ventures:
Danone Manifesto Ventures is the corporate venture arm of Danone, launched in 2016 with a mission to support the growth of innovative food and foodtech companies and partner with entrepreneurs that share its vision of a healthy and sustainable future. Through this venture team, Danone makes financial investments and provides strategic and operational support to its portfolio companies while preserving the autonomy required to grow their entrepreneurial projects. Danone Manifesto Ventures has invested in various companies including Harmless Harvest, Forager Project, Farmer’s Fridge and Nature’s Fynd in the USA, Michel et Augustin, Yooji and Agricool in France, and Epigamia in India. In 2018, it became the first corporate venture to be certified B Corp independently. (more info www.danoneventures.com)
To access the full Ready, Set, Food! press kit with images, click HERE.
