Shantel
Cerebelly, the first and only science-backed, cognitive development-focused baby food brand, announced today the recent closing of an oversubscribed Series A funding led by previous major investors, management and founders, and joined by strong new investors, all committed to continuing funding the company’s growth.
Cerebelly was founded in 2019 by a practicing neurosurgeon and Stanford PhD, developmental neurobiologist and mom of three children of her own. Cerebelly is the first and only science-backed patented baby food brand developed specifically to support optimal infant neurodevelopment. The company recently secured a patent from the U.S. Patent Office for its food composition and unique use of 16 key nutrients that specifically support this critical developmental benefit. Cerebelly is setting new industry standards, grounded in the marriage of modern nutritional science and the highest levels of neuroscience.
The patent issuance is just one of the latest in a series of industry trailblazing accomplishments since its launch. In just over three years, Cerebelly has managed to set new standards on food safety and quality, setting its own standards for heavy metal and toxin testing in an industry with little regulation. Cerebelly was the first ever shelf-stable children’s food brand to receive The Clean Label Project Purity Award and tests ingredients and finished products continuously.
“We are extremely proud to have been able to raise our next round of investment in this market environment,” says Greg Shearson, CEO of Cerebelly. “Over the past 3 years, we have consistently grown exponentially. And we remain bullish on our share growth and household penetration opportunities. Once the consumer becomes aware of our nutritional advantages, their loyalty, and commitment to our brand is best in class.”
Responding to the shift in the capital markets, the Cerebelly team committed to operating at a profit as well. Adds Greg Shearson, “we are still experiencing best-in-class growth and have now fully achieved a self-sustainable P&L. This required heavy lifting, Supply Chain innovation, and superior product offering. Our results created a willing investment environment from new and existing partners.”
Cerebelly took a calculated risk by relying on its science-based approach to set them apart in an industry dominated by household name brands with multi-million-dollar marketing budgets and licensing agreements – and its risk paid off. Beginning at launch, Cerebelly prioritized customer insights to build its DTC business, creating a survey that allows customers to input age and developmental milestones to customize and curate specific nutrition and Cerebelly products for their child. Achieving 10x growth compared to the total baby food category, Cerebelly is now sold, not only at Cerebelly.com, but also at Amazon, Thrive Market, and over 8,200 retail stores nationwide including Whole Foods, Target, Meijer, Kroger, and its most recent launch at Walmart and Walmart.com
Cerebelly’s oversubscribed Series A closure was enabled by its continued investor passion for the nutritional advancement mission of the company to make superior nutrition accessible for children everywhere to get the best start possible. Planned uses of the investment include product development and innovation, brand marketing, expanding digital presence, and retail growth for heightened accessibility globally. This round included major re-investments from the Founders, Management Team members, Core Board Member investors, initial seed investors, and new outside major investors. Knudsen Capital remains the largest shareholder group, with major additional investments from firms including H Venture Partners, Imaginary Venture Capital Partners, Babybelly LLC, and new investor Redcap Investments LP.
“Knudsen Capital is proud to be a partner of Cerebelly, and we have been from the beginning,” says Webb Knudsen, KC’s Managing Partner on the investment. “Cerebelly’s growth and Mission: to provide life-changing nutrition for optimal cognitive development for children everywhere is what we are most excited to help enable,” says Knudsen.
About Cerebelly:
Cerebelly is the first and only children’s food brand on the market that combines up-to-date child nutrition and developmental neuroscience to offer products such as age-optimized pouches and smart bars with meaningful brain-supporting nutrients that science shows babies’ growing brains need. Founded in 2019 by a practicing neurosurgeon, PhD in developmental neurobiology from Stanford, and mom of three Cerebelly is developed based on decades of research that demonstrated that various regions of the brain grow and peak at different times – each having their own nutrient needs to support seeing, hearing, memory, cause and effect, attention and social awareness. Organic, non-GMO, vegetable-first, dairy-free, gluten-free, with no added sugar, Cerebelly’s brain-supporting pouches and Smart Bars contain 8x the amount of nutrients compared to the 7 top-selling baby food brands.
Cerebelly is available at cerebelly.com, Amazon, Thrive Market, and at over 8,200 retail stores nationwide including Target, Wegmans, Meijer, Whole Foods Market, Giant Eagle, and now Walmart.
