BENGALURU : Pune-based food startup, Proeon, on Tuesday said it has raised ₹17.5 crore as a part of its seed funding round led by entrepreneur Shaival Desai.

The round also saw participation from Flowstate Ventures, Peak Sustainability Venture Fund I, Waoo Partners, and other angel investors.

According to the company, the new funds will be utilized to enhance growth and set up a research lab in the Netherlands. The startup will also use the proceeds from the current round to scale up production and expand its team.

Three-year-old Proeon focuses on providing healthier and tastier plant-based protein alternatives to meat, dairy, and egg. Their current product portfolio includes mung bean protein, chickpea protein, amaranth protein, and hemp seed protein.

“We are at the centre of creating next-gen plant protein ingredients and are delighted with the trust shown by our investors. By relentlessly focusing on innovation and partnering with large global brands as well as startups, we are working towards creating food products that are hassle-free to formulate, and are loved by consumers. Our immediate focus would be expanding presence in the markets of North America and Europe, where the shift to plant proteins is accelerating at an unprecedented pace," said Kevin Parekh, co-founder of Proeon.

Currently, the company is working with brands from Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia to build more sustainable and healthier plant-based alternatives such as highly functional plant-based egg-replacement products, clean-label burgers, patties, and alternative dairy products.

“We're really happy to have partnered with Proeon in their journey to innovate in the alternative proteins space. Kevin and Ashish, bring deep industry experience and thorough technical understanding of the proteins space and are the perfect team to cater to this industry that thrives on innovation," said Desai, who has also previously invested in startups such as Licious and Peesafe.

In collaboration with their partners and customers, Proeon is also aiming to save more than 170 billion liters of water and eliminate about 150 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions by replacing wasteful, animal-based foods with plant-based alternatives.

“We are thrilled to invest in Proeon which is catering to a rapidly growing market of plant-based proteins in India and globally. Proeon’s technology will have a major societal impact by solving climate change and nutrition challenges of today. The team has demonstrated exceptional technical and strategic capabilities, and is strongly positioned for exponential growth." added Anjani Bansal, founder, Flowstate Angel Investment Fund.