Simulate (company)

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SIMULATE
FormerlyNUGGS LABS, INC [1]
TypePrivately held company
IndustryFood technology
Founded2018
FoundersBen Pasternak
Sam Terris
Headquarters
New York City, United States
Websitesimulate.com

SIMULATE (formerly known as NUGGS) is a food technology company headquartered in SoHo, Manhattan aiming to simulate meat products with plant inputs.[2][3] The company was founded in 2018 by Ben Pasternak and Sam Terris.[4][5][6]

The company's signature product, NUGGS, a plant-based chicken nugget alternative, was launched in July 2019 via a direct-to-consumer website.[7] NUGGS started to be sold in retail stores such as Whole Foods Market, Walmart, Sam's Club, and Target in early 2021.[8] SIMULATE also makes a plant-based chicken patty product called DISCS.[9][10]

The company also sells its products via ghost kitchens in San Francisco and Los Angeles.[11]

In July 2019, NUGGS announced that it had raised a $7 million Series A funding round.[12] The round was led by McCain Foods and also included investment from Alexis Ohanian, Robert Pittman, and Lerer Hippeau.[13][14]

In July 2020, NUGGS announced that it had raised an additional $4 million in funding,[15] and announced that it was changing its name to SIMULATE.[16][17][18]

In June 2021, SIMULATE announced that it had raised a $50 million Series B funding round.[19] The round was led by Alexis Ohanian's venture capital fund Seven Seven Six and also included investment from Chris Sacca, McCain Foods, NOMO Ventures, Imaginary Ventures, Day One Ventures, and Jay Z's venture capital firm Marcy Venture Partners.[20] SIMULATE expects to use the funds to accelerate new product development; triple the company’s employee base with the addition of scientists and engineers; scale manufacturing and increase its retail and food-service presence. The company also plans to expand internationally, first in Canada.[21][22]

References[]

  1. ^ "Simulate Inc - Company Profile and News".
  2. ^ Berenstein, Nadia. "Can This 19-Year-Old Tech Whiz Make Nuggets — And An Animal-Free Lifestyle — Go Viral With NUGGS?". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  3. ^ Phan, Trung T. (2020-08-23). "Ben Pasternak: "SIMULATE is a nutrition company with a software framework"". The Hustle. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  4. ^ Sanchez, Kait (2021-03-04). "I tried the Nuggs, and they tasted like memes". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  5. ^ Peters, Adele (2019-07-09). "The newest plant-based meat brand comes from a 19-year-old founder". Fast Company. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  6. ^ "SIMULATE Founder Ben Pasternak Aims to Optimize Human Nutrition". COOL HUNTING®. 2020-10-12. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  7. ^ "NUGGS "operates like a software company" and is run by a 19-year-old tech entrepreneur - The Good Food Institute". gfi.org. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  8. ^ Bitter, Alex. "'The Tesla of Chicken' just found its way onto shelves at Walmart and Target. Its 21-year-old founder explains how his plant-based nugget business did $8 million in sales last year". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  9. ^ Edwards, Tanya (2021-02-16). "We tried Nuggs, the plant-based chicken that's all over Instagram". CNN Underscored. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  10. ^ "The Vegan "Tesla of Chicken Nuggets" Just Launched at 800 Walmart Stores". VegNews.com. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  11. ^ Beer, Jeff (2021-03-26). "How the Tesla of chicken hit a ludicrous growth mode thanks to ghost kitchens". Fast Company. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  12. ^ "Nuggs rebrands as Simulate with new cash, a new CTO and an expanded line of faux-meat foods". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  13. ^ Grubb, Ben (2019-07-10). "Ben, 19, admits his social apps wasted your time. Now he's reinventing the chicken nugget". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  14. ^ "Why Ben Pasternak Is Taking The Chicken Out Of Chicken Nuggets". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  15. ^ April 15, Maxwell RabbPublished; 2021. "Popular Plant-Based Chicken Nuggets, NUGGS, Are Now at Walmart". The Beet. Retrieved 2021-06-08.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ "Nuggs rebrands as Simulate with new cash, a new CTO and an expanded line of faux-meat foods". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  17. ^ "SIMULATE Raises $11M to Reimagine Your Childhood Favorite Foods with A Plant-Based Twist". AlleyWatch. 2020-07-17. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  18. ^ "Nuggs launches new parent company, taps former Danone exec". www.foodbusinessnews.net. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  19. ^ "Faux-Chicken Maker Simulate Valued at More Than $250 Million in New Funding". Bloomberg.com. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
  20. ^ "Jay-Z's Marcy Venture Partners Adds Simulate to Raft of Bets". Bloomberg.com. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
  21. ^ "Nuggs creator Simulate raises $50M". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
  22. ^ Yu, Douglas. "Reddit Cofounder Alexis Ohanian Leads $50 Million Series B Funding In Plant-Based Meat Startup SIMULATE". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
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