FundingRounds, leads & terms
Crunchbase News Taste-Tests Venture-Backed Protein Snacks and Finds Most Middling, With Brami Pasta the Standout
As venture money shifts from meat substitutes to protein-fortified packaged foods, including a $250 million round valuing David Protein's parent at $2.25 billion, an informal taste test of seven Target products found most were merely acceptable.
From the Crunchbase News article of November 13, 2026 and cited sources: Venture investment in protein has moved away from lab-grown and plant-based meat, which produced no breakout success, toward adding protein to familiar snacks, drinks and packaged foods. [6] [9]
SOURCES[6] Crunchbase News: VCs Are Still Chasing Protein, Even As… news.crunchbase.com[9] Crunchbase News: Fitness Startup Funding Is Rebounding news.crunchbase.com
AT Pulse research deskPublished · Updated · 4 min read · AI-assisted analysisAI-assisted, not human-edited. Methodology Corrections Who owns this site
- What happened
- Venture investment in protein has moved away from lab-grown and plant-based meat, which produced no breakout success, toward adding protein to familiar snacks, drinks and packaged foods. [6] [9]
- Original source
- Crunchbase News article, independent perspective
- Brief by
- AT Pulse research desk AI-assisted; publisher and contact on the desk page
- When
- November 13, 2026 article published
- Covered
- Nov 13 edition
- Evidence
- 10 sources across 8 sites
- 1Crunchbase News: Protein Startups Are Selling Lots Of…news.crunchbase.com
- 2AgFunderNews: David Protein owner hits $2.25bn valuationagfundernews.com
- 3Modern Retail: Brami's and Mosh's recent funding roundsmodernretail.co
- 4Dealroom: Frozen One scoops up $5.75Mdealroom.co
- 5Axios Pro: David Protein parent $250Maxios.com
- 6Crunchbase News: VCs Are Still Chasing Protein, Even As…news.crunchbase.com
Reach: not measured yet
Venture investment in protein has moved away from lab-grown and plant-based meat, which produced no breakout success, toward adding protein to familiar snacks, drinks and packaged foods. [6] [9]
Medici Brands, owner of David Protein, raised a $250 million Series B at a $2.25 billion valuation, co-led by Greenoaks and Valor Equity Partners. Its revenue and growth figures are self-reported. [2] [5]
Among seven products from one Target store, most landed in a fine-but-unremarkable middle. Brami's protein pasta clearly led, Mosh's bar ranked lowest on taste, and better-tasting items changed familiar formats only modestly. [1] [3]
David's low-calorie formulations depend partly on the fat substitute EPG. David's 2025 purchase of its maker, Epogee, has drawn antitrust litigation from rival brands. [2]
large rounds are flowing to protein-fortified foods, and Target shelf access is helping drive growth. Implication: if products sell on nutrition labels rather than flavor, repeat purchases could be weaker than valuations assume.
Read the full assessment
No source measured repeat buying.
Executive brief
Investors valued David Protein's parent, Medici Brands, at $2.25 billion when it raised a $250 million Series B in September 2026 (AgFunderNews). When Crunchbase News bought protein products from venture-backed brands at Target and tasted them, most fell into a "fine, not great" middle. Brami's protein pasta was the only clear winner (Crunchbase News). Venture money is moving away from fake meat and into adding protein to ordinary packaged foods. The tasting suggests these products sell on their nutrition numbers more than their flavor.
What changed and event timeline
Mosh and Brami raise
Mosh, co-founded by Maria Shriver and Patrick Schwarzenegger, raised a $13M Series A led by Main Street Advisors. Brami raised a $33M Series B led by VMG Partners ().
Frozen One extends its seed round
It raised $5.75M led by Brand Foundry Ventures, bringing its total to $7.8M. This came two months after a $2M round ().
Medici Brands at $2.25B
A $250M Series B co-led by Greenoaks and Valor Equity Partners (;).
Crunchbase reports a funding shift
Venture money has moved from meat substitutes toward protein-fortified snacks and drinks. Snacks and packaged foods appear to be the biggest fundraisers ().
Taste test published
Joanna Glasner rated seven products bought at Target. Brami pasta scored best. Mosh's bar scored lowest on taste ().
Capabilities and access
Products tested, with protein and calorie figures as reported by Crunchbase News: All were bought at retail from one Target store.
Read the full section
Products tested, with protein and calorie figures as reported by Crunchbase News:
- David Vanilla Bean frozen dessert: 30g protein, 210 calories per pint
- Frozen One ice cream: 40g protein per pint
- SkyPop soda (formerly Don't Quit): 10g protein, 45 calories per can
- Khloud popcorn: 7g protein
- Mosh High Protein bar: 20g protein, plus creatine and lion's mane
- Cadootz crackers: about 5g protein
- Brami pasta: 12g protein
All were bought at retail from one Target store.
Technical analysis for researchers and developers
- Method: The test was informal editorial sampling of one store's shelf. It did not report blinding, panel size, scoring scales or control products.
- Formulation: David's low calorie counts depend partly on EPG, a fat substitute.
- Pattern: The products that tasted best changed a familiar format only slightly. Brami's pasta, for example, claims 70% more protein (Modern Retail).
Read the full section
- Method: The test was informal editorial sampling of one store's shelf. It did not report blinding, panel size, scoring scales or control products. The results are impressions and cannot be reproduced.
- Formulation: David's low calorie counts depend partly on EPG, a fat substitute. David bought EPG maker Epogee in May 2025, which cut competitors off from the ingredient (AgFunderNews).
- Pattern: The products that tasted best changed a familiar format only slightly. Brami's pasta, for example, claims 70% more protein (Modern Retail).
Claims and evidence
- Medici's $250M at $2.25B, with named lead investors: announced by the company and repeated in several trade reports (AgFunderNews; Axios Pro). No filing confirms it.
- David's revenue: "over $300M in 2026 revenue" and "one of the fastest-growing CPG brands" are self-reported.
- Brami's growth: the expected 400% year-over-year sales growth is a self-reported CEO projection (Modern Retail).
Read the full section
- Medici's $250M at $2.25B, with named lead investors: announced by the company and repeated in several trade reports (AgFunderNews; Axios Pro). No filing confirms it.
- David's revenue: "over $300M in 2026 revenue" and "one of the fastest-growing CPG brands" are self-reported. The second phrase comes from Greenoaks partner Neil Shah, who invests in the company (AgFunderNews).
- Brami's growth: the expected 400% year-over-year sales growth is a self-reported CEO projection (Modern Retail).
- Frozen One's total raised: Crunchbase says "over $8M" (Crunchbase News). Dealroom says $7.8M (Dealroom).
- SkyPop, Khloud and Cadootz: the reviewed sources give no funding figures.
Context and prior work
Lab-grown and plant-based meat absorbed large amounts of venture money but have not produced a breakout success (Crunchbase News). Capital has since moved to protein added to familiar foods. Other examples include Good Protein's roughly $90M round for plant-based shakes (Green Queen) and other protein snack-bar deals (FoodNavigator). Startup funding in fitness and wellness topped $3.6B in the first half of 2026 (Crunchbase News).
Limitations, safety and contested findings
- The taste verdicts come from a small, informal sample. They are not a sensory study.
- David's control of EPG is the subject of ongoing antitrust litigation brought by OWN Your Hunger and Defiant Chocolate.
- State and federal efforts to define "ultra-processed" foods could affect heavily reformulated products like these (same source).
Read the full section
- The taste verdicts come from a small, informal sample. They are not a sensory study.
- David's control of EPG is the subject of ongoing antitrust litigation brought by OWN Your Hunger and Defiant Chocolate. Lighten Up Foods settled and secured a supply agreement (AgFunderNews).
- State and federal efforts to define "ultra-processed" foods could affect heavily reformulated products like these (same source).
Business and practitioner implications
- Distribution: Target is a major channel for these brands.
- Supply chain: Control of key ingredients, as with David and EPG, can be a competitive moat and a legal liability at the same time.
- Valuations: Investors are pricing in rapid retail growth (Modern Retail). Lukewarm taste could limit repeat purchases, but no reviewed source measured repeat buying.
Read the full section
- Distribution: Target is a major channel for these brands. Frozen One reportedly closed its $2M round in a hurry after Target asked for about 1,500 stores within three months (Dairy Processing).
- Supply chain: Control of key ingredients, as with David and EPG, can be a competitive moat and a legal liability at the same time.
- Valuations: Investors are pricing in rapid retail growth (Modern Retail). Lukewarm taste could limit repeat purchases, but no reviewed source measured repeat buying.