US-based Slate Milk has raised an additional $1.7m in seed funding, taking the total funding secured by the chocolate milk brand to $2.5m.

Based in Boston, Slate offers low sugar, high protein, electrolytes-enriched lactose-free chocolate milk.

Slate also secured listings in 3,000 outlets. Launched into grocery stores in November 2019, Slate Milk products are currently available at outlets of several retailers including Harris Teeter, Giant Food and Market Basket.

Its products are also available at its own website and on Amazon.

Manny Lubin co-founded the firm with college friend Josh Belinsky in 2018.

Lubin was quoted by Foodbev.com as saying: “There’s a ton of exciting innovation in the plant-based milk space, but where we see the larger opportunity to innovate is in the real milk space. I think our recent funding round and our growth in the grocery channel are both validating this.”

The website quoted Belinsky, who leads the sales efforts, as saying: “We always want to surround ourselves with people smarter than us, and people who have experienced some of the problems we know we’re going to go through at some point.

“The taste and nutritional make-up of our products, along with our early success in grocery stores is what excited a lot of these individuals to invest in the business.”