Smári Ásmundsson is Championing Personal Health & Planetary Sustainability with NØRSE CØDE

Hi, climate leaders 👋 

Welcome back to another issue of The Climate Scout!

Today at a glance:

• Introducing NØRSE CØDE

• Detailing their business model, tech, traction and team

• Why do we need this now?

• What is the climate impact?

• How you can support them!

-  Angelica 💜

Featured Startup: NØRSE CØDE

Today’s climate startup feature is NØRSE CØDE. NØRSE CØDE is a premium vegan protein powder made from upcycled barley, championing both personal health and planetary sustainability. Their mission is to nourish individuals while safeguarding the Earth, proving that better choices for us can also be better for the planet.

NØRSE CØDE Fast Facts

Headquarters

Petaluma, CA

Technology

NØRSE CØDE combines ancient grains and modern techniques to create a unique product. They transform Brewer's Spent Grain into a nutrient-rich powder suitable for humans. They keep all the good stuff in the grain, like vitamins and protein. NØRSE CØDE’s protein powder contains all nine essential amino acids, ensuring optimal absorption. We use natural flavor science to make their vegan protein powders delicious without artificial additives.

Business Model

1. Products: Vegan protein powder made from upcycled barley, available in chocolate and vanilla flavors. In the future, they may introduce plant-based milk and other wellness products.

2. Benefits: Their protein powder is nutrient-dense, sustainable, and tastes great. It is made from upcycled barley, reducing land use and greenhouse gas emissions.

3. Price: Each 450g pack of protein powder costs $25 and provides 10 servings. It is a premium product for health-conscious consumers.

4. Distribution: Initially, they will sell their products online through platforms like Shopify and Amazon. Eventually, they will expand to conventional and natural channels and international markets.

5. Revenue: Their main source of revenue is from selling protein powder and plant-based milk. In the future, they may expand into other wellness products.

6. Marketing: They will invest in digital and experiential marketing to build a strong community and gain media coverage.

7. Funding: They are currently raising up to $500k through a Convertible Note to support their launch, marketing, and production.

8. Target Audience: Conscious consumers, fitness enthusiasts, modern families, plant based & vegan community, nordic culture aficionados.

9. Operations: Using upcycled ingredients is both eco-friendly and cost-effective. Their business model focuses on sustainability, targeting a premium market segment, and expanding through online platforms.

Traction

• Total funding: $100k

• Successfully developed a premium nutrient-dense vegan protein powder available in two flavors: chocolate and vanilla

• A plant-based milk formula has been created

• Secured the supply chain

• By year 3, the company aims to turn profitable with an estimated revenue of $9.2 million, which is expected to escalate to $37.1 million in revenue by year 5

Founders

With two consumer packaged goods brands under his belt, Smári's journey in the food industry is storied. His decade of experience has equipped him with an innate understanding of the intricacies of product development, brand building, and market dynamics. Smári's passion for sustainability and health drove him to explore innovative ways to offer nutritious products that also have a positive impact on the planet. This drive led to the inception of NØRSE CØDE.

Why Now?

Now is an important time for several reasons:

1. People are more aware of their health, the environment, and ethical concerns. The COVID-19 pandemic has made us think more about where our food comes from and what we consume.

2. There are urgent environmental problems like climate change, deforestation, and water scarcity. The food industry is a big part of these problems, but NØRSE CØDE offers a sustainable solution.

3. More and more people are choosing to be vegan or reduce their meat and dairy consumption for health, animal rights, and environmental reasons. The market for vegan products is growing, and people want tasty and nutritious options.

4. There is a global focus on reducing waste, especially food waste. By using barley that would otherwise be wasted, NØRSE CØDE is part of this movement.

5. Advances in food technology allow us to create sustainable products that taste good and meet consumer expectations.

In summary, NØRSE CØDE is coming at the right time because people are more aware, the environment needs help, dietary habits are changing, waste reduction is important, and technology allows us to make a great product.

Climate Impact

NØRSE CØDE is a leader in creating environmentally friendly food. They use upcycled barley, like brewer's spent grain, to make their products. This helps reduce their impact on the environment by not needing to grow new resources. It also saves land, water, and energy. Compared to traditional sources, they use 14 times less land, which means less deforestation and soil erosion. Their production process also uses 34 times less water, which is important because water is becoming scarce globally. Their product also creates 5 times fewer greenhouse gas emissions, which helps fight climate change. By using upcycled ingredients, they are promoting a circular economy and showing the potential of repurposing waste. NØRSE CØDE proves that sustainable solutions can be tasty, healthy, and profitable.

Support NØRSE CØDE

• Investors - NØRSE CØDE is raising $500,000 through a Convertible Note, which will be directed towards launching the protein product, scaling marketing efforts, and ensuring the first production run goes smoothly.

   

Quarter 3 Funding Report

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Will the climate tech funding downturn come to an end soon? Here are the top three findings:

🚀 Finally, funding rebounds this quarter

After two consecutive quarters of decline, climate tech funding is finally on an upward trajectory again. Q3'23 is set to be one of the strongest quarters, reaching levels last seen in 2021.

📉 Number of deals is on a decline

While funding numbers have increased, deal activity has declined. This discrepancy can mainly be attributed to several exceptionally large deals this quarter, including four deals each exceeding $1 billion.

🌍 Funding is up across all regions

Funding has seen a positive increase in all major regions. Interestingly, Europe has taken the lead over the US in both funding and deal activity this quarter.

Subscribe to Net0 Insights’ newsletter here to be the first to explore the entire report.

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