Sunscoop, the female-founded, plant-based, allergen-friendly ice cream brand made with superfood ingredients and no refined sugar, recently announced the completion of a $2 million seed financing round.
Led by Vibrant Ventures – an investment firm focused exclusively on plant-based CPG, the funding round supports Sunscoop co-founders Carli Blum and Chelsea Fisher in their mission to create innovative plant-based treats that everyone can enjoy. With support from this cohort of investors dedicated to championing plant-based foods, the funding invigorates Sunscoop’s next phase of growth including retail and DTC expansion, strategic new hires and the launch of five new plant-based products.
“Through years of innovation and perseverance, Carli and Chelsea attained the holy grail of clean ingredients, delicious taste, and a creamy texture using only plants,” says Jarret Christie, CFA, managing partner at Vibrant Ventures and an angel investor in Sunscoop since 2018. “Revolutionizing a food category with plant-based ingredients is an immense challenge and it’s particularly difficult in frozen desserts. This seed round represents a monumental milestone for the Sunscoop team, who has worked tirelessly to establish product-market fit with a captivating brand that consumers are drawn to while making ethical decisions with their dollars, and without compromising on taste.”
Founded in 2017, and originally launched at LA’s open-air Smorgasburg market, Sunscoop has since grown to over 700 strategic retailers to date and will relaunch their nationwide DTC shop in April. The revamped ecommerce shop coincides with the debut of two inventive new flavors: Cold Brew Swirl (coffee ice cream with chocolate, chaga, and oat cacao nibs) and Cookie Whoa! (vanilla bean ice cream with superfood cookie dough chunks from Toto Foods with lion's mane).
The new additions join Sunscoop’s lineup of flavors with superfood ingredients, which includes Vanilla Bean Cream (with probiotic cultured coconut cream), Best Chocolate Ever (with reishi), Mmmint Chip! (with moringa), Supernatural Strawberry (with maca), Wild Blueberry Crumble (with antioxidant-rich blueberries), and Toasted Coconut Butter Caramel (with Himalayan pink salt). All Sunscoop products are completely plant-based and allergen-friendly with no dairy, gluten, refined sugar, nuts, or soy.
“Since our early days at Smorgasburg, it’s been incredible to see the response and growing demand from our customers, from those who can finally safely enjoy ice cream free of allergens, to those that are just looking to eat more plant-based,” says co-founder and CEO Carli Blum. “We’re so excited to have the support of industry leaders who fully believe in Sunscoop’s mission and the future of plant-based foods. Their capital and expertise will help us sustain growth, grow our internal team, support distribution into new regions, and develop new products that encourage people to reset their expectations of what plant-based, allergen-friendly products can offer.”
Sunscoop is set to release five new SKUs by fall 2022, including two flavors of a brand new shelf-stable product and three flavors of a plant-based ice cream novelty poised to be a category first. This summer, customers will be able to find Sunscoop at experiential pop-ups in NYC and LA. Sunscoop is currently available at Whole Foods, Erewhon, Gelson’s, MOM’s Organic Market, and online marketplace FreshDirect.
About Sunscoop
Sunscoop is on a mission to reimagine a timeless classic – ice cream. Using bold flavors, unexpected superfood ingredients, and zero dairy, gluten, refined sugar, nuts, or soy products, Sunscoop is completely plant-based and allergen-friendly to make indulgence something everybody can enjoy. Female-founded in 2017 by Carli Blum and Chelsea Fisher, Sunscoop is now available at 700+ locations across the country.
