Goldman Sachs is among financiers investing $65 million into Ripple, a company that produces dairy-free goods using protein from yellow peas. The investment, also supported by Euclidean Capital, Khosla Ventures, Fall Line Capital and S2G Ventures, is the largest single capital infusion to date and brings Ripple’s total funding to $110 million.

Ripple was founded in 2015 by two American entrepreneurs. Its dairy-free milk and yoghurt products, currently only available in the US and Canada, are made from the protein in yellow peas. The protein is extracted from the vegetable in a way that the company claims masks the flavour of the pea.

The brand’s products are dairy-free and vegan-friendly, and the company claims they are healthier and better for the environment than both dairy milk and other dairy-free alternatives. Ripple says its products require 25 times less water than animal milk to be produced and six times less water than almond milk. It also asserts the production of its food and drink emits 86% less greenhouse gases than almond milk and 2% less than dairy products.

Studies show that whole pulses, the food group to which yellow peas belong, have cholesterol- and lipid-reducing properties. Ripple claims its products contain 8g of protein per cup, whereas almond milk contains 1g and coconut and cashew milk contain none.

A total of $1 billion has been invested into innovative food and drinks companies since 2014. The increased appetite of US consumers for plant-based food and beverage products is shown by a 5.5% decline in retail sales of cows’ milk in the US in 2017, according to IRI. In contrast, the dairy-free beverage sector in the US has grown by 61% since 2012, according to Mintel. The number of dairy-free, vegan-friendly product launches has increased 140% between 2013 and 2017 in response to this trend.

Goldman Sachs global chair of consumer retail and health-care groups, Kathy Elsesser, commented on the $65 million investment to Bloomberg saying: “We are proud to invest in a company that has one of the fastest-growing plant-based product lines.” The demand for Ripple’s products has increased 300% per year since 2015.