Time‑Travelling Milkman Raises €2M to Scale Sunflower-Based Creaminess Ingredient Oleocream
Time‑Travelling Milkman, a Dutch food‑tech startup based in Wageningen, has steadily built momentum in the sustainable food space, raising multiple rounds of funding to expand production and commercialisation of its breakthrough plant‑based creaminess ingredient, Oleocreamᵀᵀᴹ. Founded in 2020 as a spin‑off from Wageningen University & Research with the mission to create indulgent, sustainable alternatives to dairy fats using natural sunflower‑based oils, the company has attracted strategic capital from both corporate and venture investors to fuel its growth and scale operations. Time‑Travelling Milkman’s patented process preserves naturally occurring oleosomes — tiny oil droplets in sunflower seeds that mimic the texture and functionality of dairy fat — enabling the ingredient to deliver rich creaminess for plant‑based dairy, hybrid products and other food applications.
In September 2025, Time‑Travelling Milkman secured €2 million in Pre‑Series A funding to accelerate the commercial rollout of Oleocream and support its transition from pilot production to full‑scale supply for food manufacturers. This funding round brought in two new strategic investors — Sparkalis, the venture arm of the Puratos Group focused on disruptive food‑tech innovations, and Evercurious, a European venture capital fund backing early‑stage deep‑tech startups. The round also included follow‑on support from Oost NL, a Dutch regional development agency and long‑standing shareholder. With production capacity scaled to 1,000 tonnes per year, the capital will be used to drive commercial trials, support customer launches and expand Oleocream’s footprint across dairy, plant‑based and hybrid food categories.
Prior to the Pre‑Series A round, Time‑Travelling Milkman had already demonstrated strong investor confidence with an earlier €850,000 seed investment that helped it strengthen its team, scale production and enter initial markets. That seed round included backing from Alianza Team, a multinational leader in lipids and nutrition, alongside existing shareholders SHIFT Invest, Oterap and Oost NL. This early capital was key in moving Oleocream from laboratory development to scalable production volumes and broader market introduction.
In total, Time‑Travelling Milkman has raised over €4 million in investment across multiple funding rounds, enabling it to grow from a research spin‑off into a commercially operative ingredient supplier poised to influence food formulations across Europe and beyond. The company has combined venture and corporate investment with non‑dilutive regional and EU funding to support innovation projects focused on sustainable plant‑based ingredient development. In late 2025, Time‑Travelling Milkman and partners including NIZO Food Research and Duynie received regional EFRO Oost funding to develop a suite of sunflower‑derived ingredients — OleoCream, OleoPowder, and SunPulp — aimed at broadening the use cases of sunflower‑based functionality in food formulations while enhancing circularity and minimizing environmental impact.
Oleocream itself has been positioned as a clean‑label, allergen‑free solution that delivers creaminess and texture comparable to dairy fats, with significantly lower emissions than conventional dairy and tropical fat alternatives. It is highly compatible with high‑heat processes and a wide range of applications, including cream cheeses, desserts and breakfast spreads, making it attractive to both traditional dairy and plant‑based producers seeking to improve product taste and sustainability. Time‑Travelling Milkman believes that the ingredient can play a central role in the ongoing transition toward more sustainable diets, helping brands respond to consumer demand for healthier, less processed foods.
The company’s co‑founders and leadership have highlighted the importance of strategic funding to enable rapid scaling at a time when demand for sustainable food ingredients is rising. By leveraging investor expertise from food‑industry focused venture arms and early‑stage deep‑tech funds, Time‑Travelling Milkman is well‑positioned to extend its market reach and deepen partnerships with manufacturers across food categories.
As the startup continues to commercialize its proprietary sunflower‑based technologies, it also contributes to broader efforts within the food industry to reduce reliance on animal fats and environmentally costly tropical oils, aligning with sustainability goals and regulatory pressures across Europe. Time‑Travelling Milkman’s evolving investor base — from corporate venture arms to regional development agencies and specialised funds — underscores a shared belief in the company’s potential to reshape how creaminess is achieved in the foods of tomorrow.
