# Bettani Farms

> Bettani Farms is a Berkeley, California food company making protein-rich, dairy-free cheese that melts and stretches like the real thing. Its patented Caseed protein, derived from the seeds of regenerative crops, mimics dairy casein without the dairy, nuts, soy, or carbon footprint. Formerly Climax Foods, the company rebranded to Bettani Farms in October 2025, named former Califia Farms CFO Sandeep Patel as CEO, and closed an initial $6.5M of its Series A led by S2G Investments to scale mass-market cheeses like mozzarella and feta.

- **Founded:** 2019
- **Headquarters:** Berkeley, California, United States
- **Founders:** Oliver Zahn (Founder (astrophysicist; no longer with the company))
- **Team size:** ~25 employees
- **Products:** Caseed protein, Mozzarella-style cheese, Feta and other styles, Climax Blue (legacy)
- **Notable:** Climax Blue was initially selected as the first vegan cheese to win a Good Food Award (later disqualified after a 2024 rule change), drawing national attention including a segment on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert., Finished cheeses featured on menus at acclaimed restaurants including Eleven Madison Park and Atelier Crenn., Developed patented Caseed protein delivering 80-100% of dairy cheese's protein without dairy, nut, or soy allergens.

## Products & services

- **Caseed protein** — A patented plant-based protein derived from the seeds of regenerative crops that mimics the functionality and mouthfeel of dairy casein, enabling melt and stretch without dairy, nuts, or soy allergens and with a lower carbon footprint.
- **Mozzarella-style cheese** — A protein-rich, dairy-free mozzarella alternative built for melt and stretch, targeting pizza and frozen-food makers, with 12-20g of protein per 100g.
- **Feta and other styles** — Greek-style feta, cheddar, Monterey jack, goat cheese, cream cheese, and brie alternatives powered by Caseed, designed for foodservice and CPG partners.
- **Climax Blue (legacy)** — The award-winning vegan blue cheese from the company's Climax Foods era, made from pumpkin seeds, lima beans, hemp seeds, coconut fat, and cocoa butter; the company has since shifted focus to mass-market styles.

## Achievements

- Climax Blue was initially selected as the first vegan cheese to win a Good Food Award (later disqualified after a 2024 rule change), drawing national attention including a segment on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
- Finished cheeses featured on menus at acclaimed restaurants including Eleven Madison Park and Atelier Crenn.
- Developed patented Caseed protein delivering 80-100% of dairy cheese's protein without dairy, nut, or soy allergens.
- Raised approximately $33.5 million in total funding to date.

## Latest updates

- **2025-10** — Climax Foods rebranded to Bettani Farms, named former Califia Farms CFO Sandeep Patel CEO and Chairman, and announced an initial $6.5M closing of its Series A led by S2G Investments.
- **2025-10** — Hired senior operators including Rajiv Dave (SVP R&D), Tom Zilligen (SVP Sales), and Maxwell Brown (Process Engineer); shifted focus toward mass-market mozzarella and feta for the pizza and frozen-food markets.

## Links

- Website: https://bettani.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bettani
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DR4xWZukZNa/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/bettani-farms
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-07