Grainful, an Ithaca, New York-based company that is disrupting the frozen food and meal kit category with a new take on oats, announced that it has closed a $3.3 million strategic financing round with lead investments from Advantage Capital, Rand Capital and the investment platform CircleUp.

"We are excited to announce our newest partnership with Grainful and look forward to building upon a great foundation set by the team,” said Reid Hutchins, Advantage Capital Partners. “The opportunity to bring products to millions of consumers both in the USA and abroad through novel category extensions is enormous."

Ben Lee, managing director of CicleUp Funds added: "We are excited to partner with the Grainful team, both in helping them raise institutional capital on our platform, and contributing from our own internally managed fund. Grainful’s uncompromised commitment to great product quality and customer experience, and sophisticated team, gives the brand a fantastic opportunity to uniquely grow its differentiated product at affordable pricing."

"We are committed to having the very best be part of the Grainful team—we will continue assembling great investors, teammates, supply chain partners and retailers to bring oats to the consumer in delicious ways they never imagined," said Jan Pajerski, Grainful’s cofounder and president. "The nutritional power of oats needs to be showcased and Grainful is moving them beyond the safety of 'me-too' breakfast recipes to eating occasions throughout the day."

As highlighted in Dr. Oz The Good Life May 2017 issue, Grainful is delivering "better ingredients, real nutrition and more global flavors." The globally inspired, bold-tasting meals are priced affordably—Grainful believes all people should be able to eat well. Grainful came to realize that oats are a great platform to achieve this mission and can be used in unexpected ways providing, according to our customers, "frozen dinners I can get excited about."

Grainful launched around a line of savory oat-based frozen entrees including Vegetarian Chili, Unstuffed Pepper, Porcini Mushroom Chicken and Tuscan Bean & Kale, among others. In 2016, Grainful added a shelf-stable meal kit product line for the speed-scratch market (30 minutes or less) that was asking for efficiency yet providing room for cooking creativity. The products are available online at the Grainful online store and Amazon.com, as well as at leading retailers across the nation.