NEW YORK – Cooks Venture, a poultry company specializing in heirloom birds and regenerative agriculture, announced a $10 million Series A investment on July 23.

Leading this round of investment was SJF Ventures and Cultivian Sandbox. Other investors included Larry Schwartz and John Roulac. In January, Cooks Venture raised $4 million from Vernon, Calif.-based Golden West Food Group.

The poultry company said this investment would help grow and commercialize its products on a national scale while strengthening its regenerative crop management program. 

“As the structural flaws in the meat industry have recently become painfully clear, we know our vision could not come at a more important time,” said Matthew Wadiak, founder and chief executive officer of Cooks Venture. “We are working hard to drive the agricultural industry toward greater biodiversity, breed diversity, and true transparency for consumers. Our innovations provide food security while supporting regional communities.”

Wadiak previously worked as a chief operating officer at Blue Apron. Cooks Venture is based in New York with operations in Arkansas and Oklahoma. 

The company also announced that it would partner with Food In Depth (FoodID), a recently launched startup. The startup is focused on testing meat and poultry for antibiotics used in production and adulterants more affordably and effectively.

“We have read about misleading claims in agriculture for years along with concerns over antibiotic resistance,” Wadiak said. “In partnering with FoodID, we have independent, scientifically verified data to prove that we are true to our claims – we never use antibiotics and our chickens are 100% Non-GMO. We know that label fraud is a serious problem in the poultry and larger food industry.”

More information about Cooks Venture is available via a previous podcast series from MEAT+POULTRY. Here is Part 1 and Part 2.