Soylent acquired by Starco Brands

Soylent Nutrition joins public company Starco Brands in an acquisition that will allow the plant-based food technology company to operate as a separate unit under its current CEO , Demir Vangelov.

As part of the deal, Vangelov told TechCrunch he would join Starco's board and get shares in the new company, while he and Soylent shareholders would become the largest bloc of Starco's single vote. Other financial details were not disclosed.

Bloomberg first reported last May that Soylent was considering a possible sale, which isn't unusual, but financially the company was doing well: Vangelov said Soylent was profitable and had experienced a growth over the past few years, including nearly hitting its projected $100 million run rate target for 2022. Getting to profitability, however, has been a messy journey.

Founded in 2013 in San Francisco by Rob Rhinehart, Soylent focuses on what it calls "complete nutrition", developing a line of shakes, powders and bars designed to provide a daily dose of vitamins, minerals, lipids, carbohydrates and proteins. . The products are sold in 28,000 stores, including Walmart, Target and Publix, and adding Walgreens in 2021.

Over the past decade, the now Los Angeles-based company has raised more than $133 million in venture funding, attracting capital from companies such as Google Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and The Production Board.

Soylent has also had its fair share of growing pains. In 2016, the company voluntarily recalled its bars after customers fell ill. Later, he determined the cause was seaweed ingredients and reformulated his powder.

Despite this setback, the company continued to raise $50 million in 2017. Later that year, Rhinehart stepped down as CEO, appointing Bryan Crowley to the role, while Rhinehart remained chairman.

Crowley at the helm lasted three years before Soylent again shook up its management team, this time placing Vangelov in the role of CEO and the departure of Rhinehart. Vangelov joined the company in 2018 after holding senior roles at Califia Foods and Oberto Foods.

"When I took over the company, we were losing money and not growing," Vangelov said. "When the board hired me, my to-do list was to think about the economy and fix the products to see if we could return to growth."

He has embarked on the path of rebuilding Soylent's economic infrastructure, including warehousing, shipping, the team and its partners. The company has also redesigned its products to improve function and taste, he said.

With an improved product, growth occurred in different channels and with a different set of consumers, Vangelov said.

"Since then, we've been consistently rated the #1 tasting protein shake on the market, not just plant-based, but all-time," he added. "Second, we were able to start investing in the brand again because we were profitable and didn't need new investors to raise money all the time."

This brings us to 2022, when Vangelov said he started thinking about how to inject growth into Soylent and saw two options: fundraise again or partner with someone which can help the business grow rapidly. He and the board have chosen to partner with Starco Brands.

And who is Starco Brands? The public company, part of the Starco Group, creates and acquires consumer products such as household cleaning items, automobiles and personal care. It was launched in 2010, under the name Insynergy Products.

Insynergy went public in 2012 and changed its name to Starco in 2017. That was the same year it launched its Breathe line of aerosol cleaning products. In December 2021, the company teamed up with singer Cardi B to launch one of its most popular...