Paulig, the Finland-based coffee and Tex Mex major, has invested in fledgling gluten-free pizza firm For Real! Foods.
Sweden-based For Real! Foods has raised EUR850,000 (US$957,000) in a seed funding round led by PINC, Paulig’s in-house venture-capital arm.
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Set up in 2020, For Real! Foods says it sells its pizza at “major” food retail chains in Sweden, as well as through e-commerce grocer Mathem and its own website. The company also has foodservice customers for its frozen pizza, which uses bases made of cabbage.
Daniel and Kristin Nowak, For Real! Foods’ co-founders, said: “With this investment, we can seriously scale up the production and sales and marketing efforts, both in Sweden and in the Nordics, as well as secure the launch of new products.”
Paulig says its PINC venture arm makes early-stage investments “in and around the future of food” to help the group “renew itself and prosper, as well as contribute to a tastier, healthier and more sustainable planet”.
PINC’s investments include Switzerland-based cell-cultivated meat firm Mirai Foods and Finnish start-up Carrot Revolution, which owns Carrot Kitchen, a cooking app for children.
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By GlobalDataMarika King, the head of PINC, said: “For Real! Foods has succeeded with the art of creating a nutritious alternative to one of the most indulgent meals we have – pizza. In addition, the team has several new products in the pipeline so we are very excited to be part of this journey.”
Other investors who took part in the funding round included Christer Ridderheim – the founder of delicatessen business Ridderheims, which is now owned by Atria – and Hans Johansson, founder of Swedish technology firm Semcon.
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