The company, which has vegan pizza restaurants in London and Brighton, walked away with the funding after presenting its concept at Vevolution’s Pitch + Plant event in London.
The event featured seven plant-based companies, which were selected from the 56 original applications.
Funding search
Tim Barclay, co-founder and co-owner of Purezza, said, “We’ll be continuing to raise funds for the factory in coming weeks, and look forward to distributing our mozzarella to stores and restaurants in the near future.
“We’re currently seeking further investment and welcome any interested parties. We look forward to expanding Purezza and changing the world for the better.”
Purezza said it will also be crowdfunding via Crowdcube in the near future.
New cheese alternatives
Purezza, meaning purity in Italian, opened its first restaurant in 2015, becoming the first vegan pizzeria in the UK.
Purezza unveiled a new concept called Mozzarella 2.0 - a completely vegan lab-crafted mozzarella alternative that is also free from common allergens such as soya, gluten and nuts.
It is also made from all natural ingredients, whereas some other plant-based cheese alternative brands contain chemical-based additives and preservatives such as modified starch, lactic acid, and titanium dioxide. The cheese will also be free from palm oil.
The company said it spent more than two years developing its mozzarella alternative using an Italian brown rice.
On its website, the company says, “Our cheese is not only tastier than traditional mozzarella, it’s also less than half the calories and fat.”
The company also makes cashew alternative cheeses, a ricotta-style and a creamy coconut cheese alternative.
In addition to selling the cheeses via retail, Purezza will be supplying its growing restaurant chain and other businesses looking to serve vegan options.