This week, California-based vegan brand Perennial launched its plant-based nutrition beverages on its e-commerce platform. The brand was founded by Brent Taylor (co-founder of vegan brand Beyond Meat) and food scientist Sara Bonham with the mission of providing older consumers with animal-free nutrition targeted to their specific needs. “I think today, if just talking about the United States, the 50-plus demographic truly is a changed generation,” Taylor told BevNet. “They’re aging better than the generations before them and they continue to get better with age. So the challenge is in the grocery stores, in the mass market channel, there are no other food and beverage products that are truly championing them. We’re a brand that has their back on a day-to-day basis.” The company has secured $2.5 million in funding from investors, including Collaborative Fund, that see its products as filling a market gap in the growing plant-based industry. “We think there is a real opportunity to not only create an imitation of a dairy product, but something that is maybe as good or better than dairy, and the opportunity to create something from a health perspective that is superior by using plants,” Collaborative Fund partner Lauren Loktev said. “Perennial we really loved because I think the next wave of animal protein alternatives is going to need to have companies that have favorable health and nutrition profiles and can address needs that are harder to fulfill with the existing products that are out there.” According to Taylor, eight percent of the world’s population is currently 65 years or older—a demographic that is expected to increase to 13 percent by 2030.