Leaven Foods has raised $2.0M in seed funding to scale its instant sourdough technology.
The company makes an "Instant Sourdough" starter replacement - a powdered format built from wild yeast and bacteria isolated from sourdough - that lets commercial and home bakers skip maintaining a traditional starter. Mix it into dough, let it rise and ferment, then bake. Leaven also sells an Instant Wild Yeast. Both products are all-natural, non-GMO and gluten-free, and the company's "Instant Sourdough" took a 2026 NEXTY Award for Best Pantry Staple at the Natural Products Expo. Founded by microbiologists, Leaven is building a proprietary fermentation platform it says will extend beyond sourdough into other baked goods and fermented foods.
