[April 08, 2025]

Starday Raises $11 Million in Series A Funding to Expand Data-Informed Food Innovation and Retail Partnerships

Starday, the AI-driven food innovation company reinventing category growth, announced today it has raised $11 million in Series A funding to accelerate retail expansion and develop first-of-its-kind partnerships with retailers and CPG brands to create bespoke products. The round, led by Slow Ventures and Equal Ventures, includes $8 million in equity, and $3 million in a debt credit facility from Silicon Valley Bank, along with investment from large global food and beverage companies. This brings Starday's total funding to $20 million in equity and debt.

Starday utilizes AI to predict unmet consumer needs and corresponding product opportunities - then develops the products for retail distribution. Cofounded by Chaz Flexman (CEO), Lena Kwak (Product), and Lily Burtis (Data/Platform), Starday will use the funding to expand rollouts for 14 products across four of its brands, including All Day chickpea protein crunch. The prime first example of this funding in action is the launch of Habeya, Starday's allergen-free snack brand nationwide in Kroger, Hannaford stores across New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts, and upcoming placement in Erewhon stores across Los Angeles County. Filling a gap for families navigating allergen restrictions, retailers see this as a high-growth segmentwith untapped demand.

"AI empowers food product developers with powerful tools for data analysis, trend prediction, and rapid iteration, bridging the gap between consumer desires and technical formulation," said Chaz Flexman, CEO, Starday. "In founding Starday, we wanted to empower retailers and brands to leverage AI, human creativity, and industry expertise to craft and launch the next generation of food products, brought to market faster and more effectively. This infusion of capital marks the next phase of Starday's growth in which we are accelerating the retail footprint for our brands, collaborating with retailers to build in the white space for consumers, and partnering with food companies to help them bring new products and brands to market."

With the new funding, the company is launching platform partnerships with retailers that empower them to stay ahead of trends, drive innovation and optimize the customer experience. Under these partnerships, Starday will collaborate with retail partners to develop and launch products that capture unmet consumer needs unique to the markets retailers serve. These bespoke Starday products will be informed by whitespace on their retail partners' shelves where they have a right to win and expand share of wallet.

With ample consumer data and leveraging machine learning to accelerate development Starday can develop products in months, not multiple years, like the industry standard. Its products are available in Hannaford, Sprouts, Target, The Fresh Market, Walmart, and Whole Foods Market, and via ecommerce platforms, such as Instacart and Amazon, with dozens of additional retailers launching this year.

"What excites us about Starday is how they're rethinking the entire system for how food brands are created and scaled," said Will Quist, Slow Ventures. "They're not just launching products - they're building a platform that helps retailers get into and grow new, novel categories at a fundamentally lower cost. That kind of structural advantage is rare in CPG."

Starday products on retail shelves are outperforming well-recognized incumbent brands; All Day chickpea protein crunch at Sprouts nationwide, for example, is outperforming same store sales and category velocity.

About Starday
Founded in 2021, Starday is the AI-driven food company reinventing category growth for shelf-stable products. Starday uses AI to predict unmet consumer needs and corresponding product opportunities - then develops brands for retail distribution. Its proprietary platform of tools enables the company to launch new brands and products in months, not multiple years. Starday is also partnering with retailers and CPG brands to empower them to understand their customers better, prioritize the right trends, and create products that maintain their competitive edge.

Starday has developed and launched four brands available in major grocery retailers, including Sprouts, Target, The Fresh Market, Walmart, and Whole Foods Market, and via ecommerce platforms, such as Amazon and Instacart, with dozens of additional retailers launching in 2025. It is backed by leading venture capital firms, including Slow Ventures and Equal Ventures; notable entrepreneurs, including Tristan Walker, Instacart CEO Fidji Simo, and Instacart Founder Max Mullen; and multinational food and beverage companies.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250408508297/en/

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