Animal agriculture and its byproducts, such as traditional leather, significantly contribute to climate change. Consider this: producing just one leather bag requires clearing nearly a quarter acre of land for cattle feed. Moreover, conventional leather contains up to 20% plastic, and the tanning process introduces harmful impacts like carcinogens and water contamination. Uncaged Innovations is a biomaterials company that has developed its own proprietary sustainable leather alternative. The company uses proteins from grain to develop fibral networks that mimic the animal collagen found in leather. The materials have been developed with eco-friendliness in mind, do not involve any harm to animals, and only use responsibly sourced elements. Uncaged Innovations can produce various leather types and textures in mere hours with the same texture and feel as animal leather while shaving years off the production process. The process also reduces the quantity of materials needed as it eliminates unusable patches due to natural markings that are not considered aesthetically appropriate for use. The company’s finished product emits 95% fewer greenhouse gasses, uses 93% less water, and consumes 72% less energy Uncaged’s bioleather is versatile enough to be used in fashion accessories, automobiles, and home applications.
AlleyWatch caught up with UNCAGED Innovations CEO and Cofounder Stephanie Downs to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding which brings the company’s total funding raised to $7.9M, and much, much more…
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
Our $5.6M seed investment was co-led by Green Circle Capital and Fall Line Capital, with participation from Ponderosa Ventures, Golden Seeds and existing investor InMotion Ventures, the investment arm of JLR.
Tell us about the product or service that UNCAGED Innovations offers.
UNCAGED Innovations is the world’s first leather alternative company to create a sustainable leather alternative from grains at scale. Combining our proprietary technology platform, BioFuze, with roll-to-roll manufacturing techniques enables us to create a biomaterial that mimics the texture and performance of traditional leather.
The process fuses structural proteins from grains with other bio-based elements to create fibral networks, replacing the animal collagen required for traditional leather. The end product emits 95% less greenhouse gasses, 93% less water, and 72% less energy than traditional animal leather.
What inspired the start of UNCAGED Innovations?
I started volunteering with animals 25 years ago and went vegan after learning about factory farming’s impact on both animals and the environment. UNCAGED was born out of a blend between my personal passion and two decades of entrepreneurial experience. Cattle farming today is responsible for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and the leather tanning process relies on highly toxic chemicals and plastics, putting workers and entire water systems at risk. UNCAGED is proof that things can be done differently and more ethically.
How is UNCAGED Innovations different?
There is a lot of skepticism around how environmentally-friendly leather alternatives really are. What people also fail to recognize is that traditional leather itself is made up of as much as 20% plastic. UNCAGED is different as we have created a bio-based material that successfully mimics the quality of leather without requiring tanning, making it both biodegradable and toxic-free. We meet the widespread global need for a scalable and sustainable leather alternative that does not compromise on quality – or damage the planet.
Another misconception is that leather alternatives could never match the aesthetic or performance of animal leather, and so this was a challenge we knew we had to address when creating our biomaterial. We needed to find suitable alternative ingredients that could replace any plastic components, but still have the desired characteristics of luxury leather, such as durability and elasticity. After years of research and testing various ingredient combinations, this was achieved by our research and development team, headed up by my cofounder, Dr. Xiaokun Wang.
What market does UNCAGED Innovations target and how big is it?
The traditional and synthetic leather industry is currently a $150B market, with next-generation leather accounting for only a small fraction of the market at this time. Demand for vegan leather is growing at a rate of 49.9% CAGR and is expected to increase as sustainability continues to rise as a priority for businesses. Fortunately for us, the market opportunity is substantial.
Our bio-leather is composed of a unique blend of elements, resulting in a light, durable, and flexible material, providing huge opportunities when it comes to what our leather can be used for. Whether it is customizing the pigmentation, durability, texture, or even the smell of the leather, our luxury product can be used in a variety of markets – from supple leather used for handbags, jewelry and apparel, to structured leather for wallets or luggage, or performance leather to be used in automotives and footwear.
We are currently developing prototypes for esteemed automotive businesses and some of the world’s leading luxury brands. Our goal is to work with brands of all sizes in a variety of different industries when we launch our sustainable leather alternative to the marketplace. The fashion industry is trying to improve, but it’s still such a significant contributor to the climate crisis. Supplying brands with our bio-leather material to incorporate into their existing manufacturing processes is a step in the right direction, and one we are super excited about.
What’s your business model?
We supply brands with our bio-leather material and are now at full-scale roll-to-roll production with our material formulated to fit into existing manufacturing processes meaning no additional equipment or training is needed. This delivers cost savings for businesses, enabling them to stay competitive and sustainable. Further, UNCAGED can produce thousands of meters of leather in a few days – a significant advantage for businesses that must move quickly to keep up with demand or meet tight production schedules.
Our ultimate goal is to transform every industry that relies on leather, and later this year we have some exciting news to share on an upcoming initiative that will help us reach this goal.
How are you preparing for a potential economic slowdown?
In the last few years, startups around the world have experienced a huge slowdown in funding. We were able to weather those troubles and come out strong as we operate a lean model and are smart with our money. With the lessons we have learned in the last few years, even if there is an economic slowdown, I trust that we will come out just as strong and that it won’t stop the tidal wave of change towards more sustainable materials.
What was the funding process like?
Although the funding process is never easy, there are pros and cons to challenges like this for any business. Companies that don’t have a viable business or product get weeded out of the market, and it helps slow down the rate of new companies from entering. Promising companies with strong business models know how to be successful and ride out these periods.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
The alternative leather industry has been around for almost a decade and many companies have failed to deliver on their big promises, whether that is around being able to scale their business, have affordable pricing, or be sustainable. This has created skepticism in investors and made them cautious about putting capital into this industry.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Our investors recognized that what we have achieved so far is a significant breakthrough in an industry that has long needed a breakout innovation. The opportunity is enormous, and Green Circle Capital and Fall Line Capital – along with our other investors – saw that we have developed a high–quality material that is scaled and price competitive.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
This investment supports our commercial launch which will happen in the next couple of months. We will use the rest of this year to launch our sustainable leather alternative to the marketplace with our first fashion brand partners. The fashion industry, while trying to improve, is a major contributor to the climate crisis and being able to provide alternatives that are truly sustainable solutions can help the industry take a (big!) step in the right direction. The investment will also allow us to continue to increase production and expand our team in the coming months, including growing the manufacturing team.
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Get creative and cut back wherever you can. In situations like this, you have to think out of the box and not feel scared to do things in a non-traditional way.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
While many leather alternatives struggle to scale, we are already at full-scale production. This is something that sets us apart and allows us to capture a lot of the market. Over the near term, we will continue to capture more and more market share from the leather industry, starting in fashion and automotive, but eventually transforming every industry that relies on leather.
What’s your favorite summer destination in and around the city?
My roof patio. I love getting coffee in the morning and looking across the city. It is a great place to brainstorm and reflect.
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