Prime Highlights:
- Lasso, a new US food-tech company, has launched with $6.5 million in funding to create healthier, protein- and fiber-rich foods.
- The start-up, founded by the team behind Tender Food, plans to expand its portfolio with multiple innovative food brands.
Key Facts:
- Lasso is headquartered in Boston and uses proprietary Lasso SpinTech technology to combine protein and fiber, enabling the creation of previously unattainable food products.
- The funding round was led by Rhapsody Venture Partners with participation from Safar Partners, Claridge Venture Partners, and others, supporting the commercialization of Lasso’s technology across new food categories.
Key Background:
A new food-tech company, Lasso, has launched in the United States with $6.5 million in funding. The start-up was created by the team behind plant-based meat company Tender Food and aims to make healthier, protein- and fiber-rich foods more widely available.
Tender Food, which produces clean-label plant-based alternatives to pork, chicken, and beef, will now be part of Lasso’s larger portfolio. The company plans to introduce more food brands in the near future.
Based in Boston, Lasso uses its own Lasso SpinTech technology. The system combines protein and fiber in new ways, helping create food products that were not possible before. According to Mike Messersmith, CEO of Lasso, the technology addresses the limitations of traditional processing machines, many of which are over a century old and not equipped to meet modern consumer demands.
“Consumers are no longer accepting the status quo in packaged food,” Messersmith said. “Our technology enables the creation of protein- and fiber-rich foods with clean labels and competitive costs, offering innovative solutions across grocery store categories.”
Over the past year, Lasso has been testing its commercial-scale technology beyond plant-based meat, developing protein-rich snacks and pet foods. The compact system is energy-efficient, operates at lower temperatures, and eliminates the need for excessive sugars or artificial additives.
The $6.5 million funding round was led by Rhapsody Venture Partners, with participation from Safar Partners, Claridge Venture Partners, and others. This capital will support Lasso’s expansion into high-growth food categories and help commercialize its technology on a larger scale.
Lasso originated at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute, where founders Kit Parker, Luke MacQueen, Christophe Chantre, and Grant Gonzalez spent seven years refining the technology. Described as an “advanced cotton candy machine,” Lasso SpinTech has evolved from a lab-based countertop system into a commercial-scale operation producing hundreds of thousands of pounds of product annually.
Messersmith emphasized that the funding milestone marks the beginning of Lasso’s journey to bring innovative, simple-ingredient foods to market, both through its own brands and global partnerships.
“With this technology, there is nothing on the market that matches what Lasso can achieve,” he added. “We are excited for consumers to taste these new products and experience the next generation of healthier foods.”
