Perfect Day proteins power animal-free Bored Cow flavored milk

Dive Brief:

• Bored Cow, a new flavored milk using Perfect Day’s animal-free dairy proteins, is launching next month through online direct-to-consumer sales. The brand is the first product launch from Tomorrow Farms, a new CPG company that works with food tech innovators to create products.
• Tomorrow Farms emerged from stealth earlier this month as it closed an $8.5 million seed round. Co-founder and CEO Ben Berman said his company has plans to work with other creators of new ingredients and use food tech to create products consumers are looking for. 
• This is the latest product to launch using Perfect Day’s dairy proteins created by precision fermentation. The proteins are a feature ingredient in several new CPG products, including milk, candy bars, cake mix and cream cheese.

Dive Insight:

Flavored milk is a category that has not seen much in the way of reinvention, so Berman said it was an easy choice for Tomorrow Farms’ first product. Bored Cow milk will come in Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry flavors to begin with, and a plain variety will be available later in the summer. The brand will start out with online sales, but Berman said it will be available on some store shelves by fall.

Bored Cow is not just different because it is an animal-free dairy milk — a distinction that Berman said allows it to have the same mouthfeel, texture and nutrition as dairy milk. It is shelf-stable, which Berman said makes for easy shipping and storage. It also has zero grams of sugar — Berman said the company has developed a stevia-based sweetener for the product.

The product is targeted at consumers of all ages. Berman said that by designing Bored Cow, Tomorrow Farms worked to address all of the reasons that consumers may not be buying flavored milk.

“We’re excited to be able to offer people the chance to bring that back in their diets because we’re offering milk without compromise,” Berman said.

Bored Cow will come in 11-ounce containers, which Berman said are sized for cupholders and lunch boxes. These will retail at $40 for a 12-pack, which he said is roughly similar to Nesquik or Horizon Organic products. The products will also be available in 32-ounce containers in coming months.

This product is just the beginning for Tomorrow Farms, which Berman hopes will be seen as a company that delivers favorite foods reinvented through technology. Tomorrow Farms’ recent funding round, led by Lowercarbon Capital, will help launch Bored Cow as well as broaden the innovation pipeline for future products. Berman said Tomorrow Farms is planning more launches in the Bored Cow line and continuing to work with Perfect Day, but there are other ideas and partnerships in the works.

Berman is a seasoned food entrepreneur, having started the food truck venture Mainely Burgers at age 18 and launching Good Pizza as a fundraiser for Philadelphia charities during the pandemic. He said his interest in Tomorrow Farms is spurred by wanting to future-proof food, along with helping to continue the memories and experiences people have around good food. The Tomorrow Farms team is made up of people with food industry experience who are focused on turning new ingredients and processes into products that people want, Berman said.

If Bored Cow can be pitched to consumers in the right way, Tomorrow Farms could have a hit on its hands. Animal-free dairy is a new space and explaining what it is to consumers is somewhat difficult. A recent study conducted by animal-free dairy startup Formo, Fordham University and Mercy For Animals showed that consumers are enthusiastic and curious about the product, and most interested in consuming it because they believe it’s better for cows.

Animal welfare — in a lighthearted, irreverent way — is at the heart of Bored Cow’s product messaging, Berman said. 

“The top line is it’s time to give cows a break, and let’s find a way to enjoy the milk products that we love without forcing cows in a factory farm [to] produce them for us,” Berman said. “And let’s see all the fun things that cows might get up to, whether it’s skateboarding, or writing love songs, or becoming astronauts.”