Backed By Ex-Nestlé Directors, Spain’s Plant-Based Pink Albatross Set To Disrupt The Ice Cream Market

Based in Madrid, Pink Albatross is the first plant-based ice cream brand in Spain offering clean-labelled dairy-free ice creams suitable for vegans and gluten-free folk. Already in regional supermarkets in online delivery platforms like Deliveroo and UberEats, Pink Albatross has now reformulated its recipe to deliver unexpected flavours and a new level of creaminess that will “win over any palette”, be it flexitarians, omnivores or long-time vegans. Having secured its latest funding amidst the coronavirus economic volatility, the brand has set its sights on getting its vegan ice creams across the entire country and expanding internationally to disrupt the dairy ice cream industry. 

Founded in 2018 by Pepe Biaggio and Luke Saldanha, originally hailing from Argentina and India respectively and with an impressive combined international resume of experience in the U.K. and U.S., Brazil and France, Madrid-based Pink Albatross is Spain’s first ice cream brand dedicated to using only high-quality plant-based ingredients, without any gluten or additives. 

Their flavours, ranging from mango tropical and dark chocolate to coconut, hazelnut and caramel, are crafted from just cashews, coconut milk, sugar and natural flavours, making them 100% vegan-friendly, gluten-free and suitable for those allergic to eggs, peanuts and soy. They are currently available in over 80 locations across Spain, including in key cities like Barcelona, Madrid, Bilbao and Valencia, as well as on online delivery platforms such as Deliveroo and UberEats.

But now, the company’s founders want to take Pink Albatross, an ProVeg Incubator-alum, has ambitious plans to take its vegan dairy-free ice creams to more major supermarkets across the country and launch more flavours and formats that will appeal to the mainstream consumer at a time when flexitarianism is riding an all-time high amid the pandemic. 

Having secured funding during the first round financing during the pandemic was a triumph for us and a big push to keep going.

Luke Saldanha, Co-Founder of Pink Albatross

Commenting on their plans shortly after securing US$652,300 in its first-ever round of financing back in June this year, backed by German group Katjes’ investment arm Katjesgreenfood and an investment group comprising former Nestlé directors, co-founder Biaggio said the capital provides a “financial trampoline for us to accelerate our plans for expansion and get the best vegan ice cream in supermarkets throughout Spain.” 

The Madrid startup isn’t stopping there either, adding that their mission is to bring its vegan ice creams to the entire world, disrupting a market that has long been at the at the helm of the dairy industry, a major carbon emitter that is now facing an existential crisis after the coronavirus wreaked havoc on its supply chains. 

“At the same time, we’re thinking about expanding internationally,” Biaggio explained. 

“Having secured funding during the first round financing during the pandemic was a triumph for us and a big push to keep going,” added co-founder Saldanha, pointing to the strong investment that plant-based startups have bagged despite the economic downturn. According to the Good Food Institute (GFI), plant-based protein companies in the U.S. raised a total of US$741 million in investment within the first quarter of 2020 alone – nearly matching a record $747 million raised in the whole of 2019.

Another startup is leveraging fermentation technology to create animal-free ice creams suitable for vegans, and it’s already gaining major traction. Securing US$300 million in its Series C round, representing a record-breaking figure for the fermentation sector, California-based Perfect Day has recently joined forces with a product developer in the dairy industry to launch Urgent Company, a new brand that has debuted Brave Robot – a line of animal-free dairy ice creams made using Perfect Day’s technology. 

All images courtesy of Pink Albatross.