The Ventures (CEO Kim Chul-woo) , an early-stage startup investment firm, announced on the 21st that it had made a seed investment in Doori Company (CEO Heo Su-bin), which operates the baby food brand 'BARI' that is safe from heavy metal contamination.
The Ventures noted the growing safety concerns in the global infant and toddler food market, with heavy metals detected in over 95% of baby foods sold in the US. In particular, considering that rice is more prone to accumulating heavy metals like arsenic and lead than other grains, which can pose a serious health risk to infants and toddlers, The Ventures evaluated the technological prowess of Doori Company, which proposed a fundamental solution based on Korean organic rice.
BARI, operated by Doori Company, uses organic Korean rice as its raw material and has standardized heavy metal reduction technology, previously only in the research phase, into its production site. Through this process, it has successfully reduced heavy metal levels by up to 74%.
In addition, Doori Company has integrated its global distribution system, including compliance with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) certification and English packaging standards, and has secured stable export competitiveness by shortening the lead time for new product delivery from the typical 6-9 months to less than 2 months.
The Ventures' Lee Seong-eun said, "Duri Company is a team with research and development capabilities that utilize not only heavy metal reduction processes but also functional rice varieties," and "Based on their original technology for safe food and their rapid execution in the North American market, they are expected to lead the global infant and young child food market."
“We plan to enter major North American distribution channels such as Amazon and Costco through data-driven environmental modeling and a global expansion strategy,” said Duli Company CEO Heo Su-bin. “We will provide the safest baby food option to parents around the world.”
Meanwhile, Doori Company has confirmed its marketability by selling out all of its B2B exports to the US within two months of its product launch, and is currently developing global-level infant and toddler nutrition education content with expert nutrition advice from Professor Ji-Hyeon Yoon of the Department of Food and Nutrition at Seoul National University.
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