dairy-alternative
(3)
Eclipse Foods
Eclipse Foods is an Alameda, California food-technology company making plant-based dairy products - ice cream and, since 2025, a non-dairy whole milk - engineered to be molecule-for-molecule indistinguishable from conventional dairy. Founded in 2019 by chef Thomas Bowman and food-systems entrepreneur Aylon Steinhart, Eclipse uses a proprietary blend of non-GMO plants like cassava, corn, potato and fava rather than nuts, soy, coconut or oats to recreate dairy's taste, texture and functionality. It sells through retail (Amazon, Whole Foods and regional grocers) and to foodservice partners including scoop shops, diners and burger chains.
Alex Abelin
Alex Abelin is the co-founder and CEO of PlantBaby, the Hawaii-based company behind Kiki Milk, a whole-food, organic plant-based milk built for kids. A three-time founder who spent seven years at Google and sold his smart-city startup LQD WiFi to Verizon in 2016, he traded payphone kiosks for pumpkin seeds after he and his wife Lauren couldn't find a clean plant milk for their son. PlantBaby has raised roughly $7M and hit $4.8M in revenue in 2024, selling through its own site plus Sprouts, Wegmans, Erewhon, Amazon and Thrive Market.
Nathaniel Chu
Nathaniel Chu is the co-CEO and co-founder of Tezza Foods (now Plonts), an Oakland-based food company using ancient fermentation techniques and microbial science to make genuinely complex, stinky plant-based cheese from soy milk. Holding a PhD in microbiology from MIT and a BS from Brown University, Chu spent years studying gut microbiomes before pivoting to harness those same microbial principles in food. With $12M in seed funding led by Lowercarbon Capital, Plonts launched in August 2024 in New York City and San Francisco restaurants, offering a plant-based cheddar that actually ages, melts, and smells like the real thing.