Kentucky Hemp Ingredient Processor Raises $4.5M in Funding

Kentucky’s Victory Hemp Foods, a business-to-business food ingredient processing company, has raised about $4.5 million to expand its production capacity, Louisville Business First reports. The firm is using the funds to expand capacity at its Carrollton production facility and increase contracts with the farmers who supply its raw material needs.

Victory produces hemp seed oil, hemp protein, and roasted and shelled hemp seeds, which are used in plant-based protein products. The firm has also developed a concentrated hemp protein and clarified oil.

The company has received $230,000 in low-interest loans from the Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy, two equity investments from the Kentucky Enterprise Fund, and has 45 angel investors, 10 of which are based in Kentucky.

Chad Rosen, founder and CEO of Victory, said the company has already sent samples of the concentrated hemp protein to “some of the major meat-analogue companies” after spending 30 months developing a scalable process for the product.

“I realized the future of the business was to supply these food brands that are changing the way we eat with a sustainable, scalable, good-tasting, highly-nutritious substrate for all their foods in the form of protein powder. … What we’re doing really relates to regenerative agriculture, building soil, the health and wellness of our customers, and so all those things and just the vast impact of what we’re trying to do—it’s going to be a long window for development.”— Rosen to Louisville Business First

Rosen indicated there is still about $700,000 left in the funding round and Victory is planning to launch a Series B fundraising round some time next month.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly said there was just $70,000—not $700,000—of Victory’s funding round left.