Tomorrow Farms and Perfect Day Partner for Animal-Free Dairy Milk Line

Food tech-focused company Tomorrow Farms is bringing its first product line to market with the launch of Bored Cow, an animal-free dairy milk produced in partnership with Perfect Day.

Formally announced on Thursday, Bored Cow is made with Perfect Day’s animal-free whey protein, which is produced via a precision fermentation process that creates replicas of dairy products without the use of animals. The milks will be available in Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry flavors and each serving contains 8 grams of protein, plus calcium, potassium and Vitamins D and B12. The milks contain zero sugar and are lactose-free. The line will be sold in 32 oz. cartons and 11 oz. single serve sizes online direct-to-consumer beginning next month. A fourth “original” flavor is set to launch later this summer.

“We’re super excited about the dairy space,” said CEO Ben Berman. “I think there’s an immense amount of incredible technology going on there now and quite a few opportunities.”

Though the Bored Cow brand is being introduced via animal-free milk, the trademark is also registered for yogurt, smoothies, shakes and baby formula, all of which could ostensibly be made with Perfect Day whey proteins. Also referenced in the trademark filing were plant-based protein snacks and cereals, and cell-based and plant-based meats including pepperoni, chicken fingers, chicken nuggets and beef jerky.

The announcement arrives just two weeks after Tomorrow Farms closed an $8.5 million funding round, led by Lowercarbon Capital and with participation from several other firms and individuals, including venture capitalist and philanthropist Ron Conway, musician Ryan Tedder and Instacart co-founder Max Mullen, as well as several unnamed investors.

Valor Siren Ventures (VSV), which previously invested in dairy alternative brand Good Karma, was also part of the round. Starbucks is one of VSV’s key investors, and has its own line of barista milks made with Perfect Day’s ingredients that it is currently being tested in a limited number of stores.

Berman told NOSH earlier this month that the round was intended to support the Bored Cow launch while also helping Tomorrow Farms to attract additional ingredient companies it can partner with to develop new products.

Speaking today, Berman declined to comment or confirm if Perfect Day, its founders Ryan Pandya and Perumal Gandhi, or its subsidiary The Urgent Company, were investors in Tomorrow Farms. Pandya and Gandhi initially were investors in The Urgent Company – the parent of animal-free dairy brands Brave Robot, Modern Kitchen and California Performance Company – which was folded into Perfect Day to serve as its CPG arm in 2020.

Berman said that the company’s skills with branding and design will be a point of differentiation for Tomorrow Farms. However, the brand does not retain exclusivity with Perfect Day for its protein sourcing. Creating a house of brands all using different technologies will be unique from Perfect Day’s other CPG partners, which have worked with the company to develop multiple product lines.

Perfect Day is also working with some of Bored Cow’s competing brands including Betterland Milk, a cow-free milk brand started by thinkThin founder Lizanne Falsetto. Betterland has since released a second brand, Woo Chocolate, also made with Perfect Day ingredients.

Likewise, Tomorrow Farms hopes to work with a wide array of suppliers on additional product and brand launches. The company aims to create “incentivized joint venture relationships” with its suppliers, which Berman has said will include either revenue sharing agreements, licensing fees or other alternative models.

“This first product is our partnership with Perfect Day but this will not be our last brand,” Berman said.