Perfect Day and manufacturing partner Olon bury legal hatchet

The high-profile legal dispute between animal-free dairy pioneer Perfect Day and co-manufacturer Olon is over, with court records showing that the litigation has been voluntarily dismissed with each party agreeing to cover its own legal expenses.

Separately the firm confirmed that Narayan TM, who took the helm at Perfect Day on an interim basis in late 2023 following the departure of founders Ryan Pandya and Perumal Gandhi, has left the company.

Perfect Day has raised almost $900 million from backers including Temasek and Horizons Ventures since it was founded in 2014, and is under intense pressure to deliver.

“In the near term, the board’s co-chairmen will collaborate closely with the leadership team led by COO Shayri Roychoudhury to maintain continuity, enhance collaboration, and refine the strategic roadmap,” said strategy and business director Angelina Micha Djaja, who praised Narayan TM’s “remarkable tenure.”

She told AgFunderNews: “The board is actively conducting a search for a visionary, world-class CEO to lead Perfect Day into its next phase of growth. As we pursue our medium-term goal of commercializing our first beta lactoglobulin plant [in India] and our long-term vision of sustainable profitability, we are confident in the strength of Perfect Day’s leadership team and their ability to execute our strategy effectively.”

Perfect Day has ‘resolved its obligations to Olon’

In a statement sent to AgFunderNews regarding its ugly legal spat with former co-manufacturing partner Olon, the company said it had “amicably” resolved their differences “reflecting both companies’ commitment to maintaining a constructive and professional partnership.”

As part of this resolution, Perfect Day has “resolved its obligations to Olon, and Olon is joining the group of investors of Perfect Day,” said the firm, which had previously accused Olon of “gross negligence and willful misconduct” in court documents. “We are grateful for the support and dedication demonstrated throughout the collaboration, which has been pivotal in achieving our goals.”

“We extend our thanks to Olon for its cooperation and unmatched expertise in establishing the industrial manufacturing process for our product,” added COO Shayri Roychoudhury.

“We are glad to join the group of investors of Perfect Day, believe strongly in the positive impact Perfect Day and its products can have on people and the planet, and remain open to exploring opportunities to work together again in the future,” said Olon, which had previously described Perfect Day as “an atrocious business partner” in court documents.

Perfect Day is understood to be relying on inventory to supply existing customers such as Strive FreeMilk before a new fermentation facility in India run with its joint venture partner Zydus Lifesciences comes online in 2026.

The company did not confirm the status of brands it had developed in-house and later sold to a holding company called Superlatus, which AgFunderNews has been unable to reach for comment.

A turbulent year

The dispute with Olon began in April 2024, when Olon filed a lawsuit* accusing Perfect Day of stringing it along while it “secretly planned” to switch production of beta-lactoglobulin (BLG) whey protein made via precision fermentation to cheaper facilities in India. According to its court filings, Olon spent six years working with Perfect Day on producing BLG via microbial fermentation, signing a contract under which Olon pumped millions into “expanding and tailoring” its manufacturing capabilities in Italy to its partner’s unique specifications.

However, the parties’ working relationship collapsed in August 2023 when Perfect Day stopped paying its bills, alleged Olon. In September 2023, it claimed, it was “flabbergasted” to learn that Perfect Day planned to move all manufacturing to plants it had purchased via the acquisition of bankrupt biomanufacturing co Sterling Biotech in India in 2022.

In a counterclaim filed in June 2024, Perfect Day accused Olon of fraud, breach of contract, and misappropriation of trade secrets, arguing that Olon had failed to reach target manufacturing capacity by the agreed completion date. This forced it to “fundamentally alter its business plans” and “incur significant losses.”

Perfect Day said it had repeatedly made clear to Olon that it would eventually produce BLG in India but stressed that the Indian facilities “were no threat” to its business relationship with Olon and have not yet manufactured any product.

Animal-free dairy production set to begin in India in 2026

Perfect Day created a joint venture with Zydus Lifesciences in August 2024 after selling a stake in Sterling Biotech to “establish a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility [in Gujarat, India] to manufacture fermented animal free protein to the global markets.”

According to a news article shared on LinkedIn by Perfect Day’s then-CEO Narayan TM in December 2024, the JV has started construction of the facility, which is expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2026.

Brave robots and bored cows

Perfect Day would not say which brands are currently on the market using its whey protein from fermentation apart from Strive Freemilk, and would not comment on rumors that two of the best-known brands featuring the ingredient—Brave Robot ice cream and Bored Cow milk—are being discontinued.

Launched by Perfect Day subsidiary The Urgent Company in 2020, Brave Robot ice cream had secured distribution in 5,000 stores by 2021, but over time had become a costly distraction for Perfect Day, which was trying to forge partnerships with large CPG companies as part of a b2b strategy and did not want to devote time and resources to building its own consumer brands.

In 2023, Brave Robot was sold to a newly-created company called Superlatus along with other consumer brands created by Perfect Day to showcase its animal-free ingredients including Modern Kitchen, California Performance Co.

Coolhaus, an ice cream brand acquired by Perfect Day in 2021 was also acquired by Superlatus, which AgFunderNews has been unable to reach for comment.

Ben Berman, founder and CEO at Tomorrow Farms, did not respond to a request for comment on the status of the firm’s Bored Cow brand. Launched in 2022 featuring Perfect Day’s animal-free whey, Bored Cow has recently gained listings in 2,000+ stores including Sprouts, HyVee, Central Market and Fresh Thyme.

Perfect Day announced a partnership with Unilever early last year to test a lactose-free chocolate frozen dairy dessert under the Breyers brand featuring Perfect Day’s whey protein, but has not commented on the performance of the product or the progress of its talks with large CPG companies.

*The case is: Olon S.p.A. v. Perfect Day, Inc.65194/2024 filed at the Supreme Court of the state of New York on April 12, 2024.