The IP case between mycelium meat makers Meati and The Better Meat Co has drawn to a close, after a judge ruled largely in favour of the latter.

California’s The Better Meat Co and Colorado-based Meati have ended their two-and-a-half-year-long intellectual property dispute over their mycelium protein products, paving the way for the former’s fundraising efforts.

As reported by AgFunder, a judge in the Eastern District of California court ruled largely in favour of The Better Meat Co, accusing Meati of deploying “inexplicable” tactics and engaging in “sandbagging”. The court also rejected Meati’s claim over The Better Meat Co’s patent.

The legal battle began in December 2021 after The Better Meat Co sued Meati for undermining its IP and attempting to “bully” a less-funded rival. Meati, in response, accused the former of stealing its IP. Both companies produce meat analogues derived from the same fungi strain and using submerged fermentation.

The meat of the matter

Meati was founded in 2015 by Tyler Huggins and Justin Whiteley, and has raised $365M in venture capital to date, including a $100M Series C1 round just last month. The company’s chicken cutlets and steaks are now available in more than 6,000 retail locations, and it’s aiming to take the store count to 10,000 by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, The Better Meat Co, was founded by Paul Shapiro, Joanna Bromley and Adam Yee three years later. It has brought in only $27M in funding, thanks in part to the long-running court case. It began as a company producing plant-based meat enhancers, but later revealed it had been developing meat analogues using filamentous fungi. Its Rhiza mycoprotein is, among other applications, part of Perdue Farms’ Chicken Plus blended meat line.

In July 2021, The Better Meat Co was granted a US patent for this tech, listing Augustus H Pattillo as its inventor. According to CEO Paul Shapiro, Pattillo had previously spent a year working on a Department of Energy fellowship at Chicago’s Argonne National Laboratory, at the same time Meati (then called Emergy and working on renewable batteries) was also doing work at the federal agency.

In 2019, Pattillo joined The Better Meat Co (BMC), which was accused of IP theft by Meati after receiving the patent. “On information and belief, no one had ever discovered how to make textured mycelial masses resembling animal meat before Drs. Huggins and Whitely,” Meati’s legal team had stated. Huggins and Whiteley “did not believe it was possible for BMC to have brought a product to market so quickly on its own unless Pattillo had taken something” from Meati, and argued that their names should have been on the patent.

The Better Meat Co argued that Meati had “provided no evidence that it had identified the novel claim terms of the BMC patent, had shared any of the concepts at issue with Mr Pattillo, or was even actively researching meat replacement uses of mycelium prior to 2019″.

The Californian startup also claimed that Meati had failed to provide hard, admissible evidence – despite repeated requests – to “corroborate Huggins’ and Whiteley’s testimony that they, and not Pattillo, first conceived of the claims listed in Better Meat’s patents”.

Judge reprimands Meati for ‘sandbagging’ and ‘shenanigans’

In the court order in California, judge Kimberly J Mueller sided with The Better Meat Co for the most part, admitting some trade secret claims made by Meati to proceed, but rejecting its core patent claims.

She said Meati “has not supported its opposition with citations of particular parts of materials in the record to corroborate Huggins’s and Whiteley’s testimony that they are among the inventors – or the sole inventors – who should be listed on the four Better Meat patents”.

Mueller also outlined how Meati served The Better Meat Co with nearly 3,0000 pages of documents the night before a hearing on May 17, which the Colorado-based company said supported its inventorship claims. But, the judge said, Meati’s counsel offered “no credible explanation” of why it didn’t provide such materials sooner, considering the case has been going on since December 2021.

“In a case like this one – a case pending for more than two years in which the claimant can reasonably be expected to possess the evidence it would need to prove its claims – that claimant cannot avoid summary judgment through such sandbagging and shenanigans,” she said.

Instead of showing any “genuine dispute of material fact”, she stated that Meati’s action led the court to doubt it was pursuing its claims for “a proper purpose in the first place”.

Meati targets profitability, The Better Meat Co aims to scale up

The ruling is a positive one for The Better Meat Co, which can now hope to amp up its fundraising efforts without the IP albatross on its neck.

The judge did find that Meati had “identified genuine disputes of material fact within the record” related to trade secret claims, but both companies have now agreed to bring the dispute to an end. “The case has been concluded satisfactorily and we don’t have any further comment at this time,” a Meati spokesperson said.

Echoing this, a representative for The Better Meat Co added: “This case is now concluded, and we look forward to continuing to build a better food system.”

The Better Meat Co CEO Shapiro, a long-standing animal rights advocate, was previously the subject of sexual harassment allegations during his time as VP at the Humane Society of the United States.

After leaving the charity for unrelated reasons in 2018, he told Politico: “I’ve taken responsibility for inappropriate behaviour years earlier in my career, and apologised to those who may have been offended. I cannot, however, respond to allegations that I’m unaware of, were never presented to my former employer or me during the inquiry 16 months ago, are alleged to have occurred many years ago and, frankly, just never happened.”

Both Meati and The Better Meat Co will hope to move forward with their business plans following the end of the case. Meati has enacted three rounds of layoffs in the last 12 months, the latest one cutting 13% of its workforce. It has also seen shifts in the C-suite, with Phil Graves taking over as CEO from Huggins, who has moved into an advisory role, just as COO and president Scott Tassani left the company.

The Colorado-based startup is now aiming for profitability, and has previously set out its plan to reach $1B in sales by 2025 (although the restructuring has likely pushed back this target).

The Better Meat Co just announced it had slashed the cost of its mycoprotein. When produced at scale, it will now cost the same as commodity beef, even if no further R&D advancements are made. It is now looking to scale up to supply major CPG brands in the US and Asia, who have signed letters of intent and offtake agreements for its mycoprotein.

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US biotech startup Pureture has developed an innovation that cuts the production time for its yeast-derived casein protein by 30%, and enables clean-label alt-dairy formulations.

As part of a rapidly expanding market for animal-free casein, US startup Pureture has improved the cultivation process of yeast protein, the base ingredient of its fermentation-derived offering.

By boosting yeast growth and activity via novel ingredients, the company is now able to produce its casein 30% faster than before, bringing in both time and cost savings. Additionally, while traditional yeast cultivation methods lead to foam formation – requiring the use of additives like antifoaming agents – Pureture’s new patent-pending tech “virtually eliminates” this, meeting the growing demand for cleaner-label formulations.

But despite the lack of additives, the startup says the casein maintains its emulsifying and thickening properties, and so products made from the casein retain their taste and functionality.

The case for clean-label casein

Casein comprises 80% of the total protein content found in milk, and is responsible for emulsification – preventing water and fat from separating and giving the cheese its melty and stretchy properties. The ingredient can be used to make superior vegan products like cheese, milk and yoghurt analogues, as well as protein shakes.

Currently, most plant-based dairy products use additives to replicate the functions of casein, but consumers are increasingly looking for foods free from artificial ingredients and with short ingredient lists. According to Innova Market Insights, more than two in three consumers are influenced by clean product labels, with respondents in the Americas and Europe specifically looking for additive- and preservative-free options.

Meanwhile, around half of consumers would pay more for clean-label products. And a separate survey by Ingredion shows that clean-label and natural ingredients were the factors that gained the most importance for CPG purchases between 2020 and 2022. This is perhaps why the research predicts 70% of all food and drink portfolios to be clean-label within the next two years, given that 99% of European manufacturers find them essential to their business strategies now.

Pureture’s casein protein is said to offer a cleaner alternative, as it eliminates the need for starches, gums, and emulsifiers. The company employs a six-step liquid fermentation process that combines yeast with plant-based ingredients.

It begins by cultivating a yeast strain and enriching it. Then, it separates the protein and tests the emulsification functionality, before sterlising and drying the casein. Pureture has one 50-litre fermentation tank for seed cultivation, three 500-litre vessels for the first cultivation, and a further three 30,000-litre tanks for the second cultivation. This means it can produce up to 2,400 tonnes of protein annually.

Pureture’s cheaper-than-dairy casein could attract climate-conscious companies

Pureture has its roots in South Korea. It was founded in 2022 as Armored Fresh Technologies by Rudy Yoo, who rebranded the business in May last year to separate it from his other alt-dairy startup, Seoul-based Armored Fresh.

Its animal-free dairy protein provides health gains too, offering a protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score of one, matching the digestibility of conventional milk. Additionally, since the entire process of yeast fermentation, protein recovery and emulsification is carried out continuously, Pureture’s protein can be supplied at a price 30-40% lower than conventional dairy versions.

This will be attractive to companies looking to streamline their ingredient lists and lower their climate impact. According to an independent life-cycle assessment (LCA) by Standing Ovation, which employs precision fermentation to produce its protein, animal-free casein produces up to 94% fewer greenhouse gas emissions (although the LCA was done at pilot scale, and an industrial-scale analysis would provide a more rounded picture).

Pureture has previously outlined its aim to collaborate with major dairy companies to co-brand its yeast-derived casein, and with global ingredients vendors to expand its use. To that end, in January, it partnered with South Korean food giant Namyang Dairy Products, which will develop a new vegan range with Pureture’s casein protein. Dairy is the third most-consumed protein source in South Korea, but the country’s national action plan now promotes plant-based foods.

Casein is a $2.7B market, and a host of startups are attempting to disrupt the space with planet-friendly innovations. New Culture, Change Foods, Fermify and Zero Cow Factory are all using precision fermentation (like Standing Ovation), while Alpine Bio, Finally Foods and NewMoo are tapping into molecular farming to grow casein in plants.

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Israeli startup Brevel’s first commercial-scale facility will churn out hundreds of tons of microalgae protein powder to supply the plant-based dairy industry.

Biomass fermentation player Brevel has opened a 27,000 sq ft commercial plant on the edge of the southern Israeli desert, which can produce hundreds of tons of microalgae protein for use in vegan cheese and other dairy analogues.

Renovating an existing building in Kiryat Gat to fit its needs, the project took about a year to complete, and will enable the Israeli startup to manufacture its non-GMO, planet-friendly protein powder at an industrial scale.

“Following test runs, the factory will be operational by the end of this year,” Brevel co-founder and CEO Yonatan Golan tells Green Queen. “We have [bioreactors] in all ranges from three litres, 50 litres, 500 litres, and now our new 5,000-litre bioreactor. We will be able to scale further to a total of 30,000 litres in this facility.”

He added that the microalgae biomass it produces won’t just be used to extract protein, but also co-products like polar lipids, fiber, pigments and more. The facility expects to roll out its first products by Q1 2025, with a planned debut in the US. Additional international factories are on the horizon too.

Using microalgae for functional, high-protein dairy analogues

Brevel was founded in 2017 by Golan and his brothers Ido (CTO) and Matan (COO), and employs a technology that unites light and fermentation into a single process, a feat the CEO describes as akin to “putting an electric motor into a Tesla car”. “It may sound like a very simple straightforward task to achieve, but is actually extremely complex,” he says.

“Fermentation has been confined to dark environments and is instrumental in producing extremely high yields. However, microalgae’s natural makeup of nutrients – including protein, lipids, fibre, and pigments – depend on photosynthesis for their development and growth,” he explains.

Brevel uses a strain of microalgae from the Chlorella family, a widely commercialised and highly important source of single-cell protein. This thrives in Brevel’s bright conditions, and has a regulatory advantage – it’s been classed as safe for human consumption by the FDA’s GRAS system in the US, and has been part of the EU’s safe list of novel foods for decades.

“To extract the protein, we developed a unique downstream minimal process that does not involve any solvents or chemicals. It is safe and retains the high quality and nutritional value of the protein, as well as the very high functionality,” says Golan.

The result is a white microalgae powder with 60-70% protein concentration and a full amino acid profile. Its “negligible” climate footprint adds to the functional superiority of the ingredient, which will appeal to plant-based meat and dairy producers.

Brevel is first targeting the alt-dairy market, a segment that doesn’t yet have a plant protein solution with zero flavour or colour compromises, according to Golan. “Our protein is completely white and has a neutral flavour, which enables alt-dairy manufacturers to significantly increase nutritional values and benefits for consumers while maintaining the sensory experience,” he says.

“The protein is very easy to use – similar to how one would use soy or pea protein,” he adds. “We have a team of food technologists and an advanced application lab in our new factory, in which we develop and finetune formulations that allow… maximal value for our partners.”

To demonstrate its capabilities, visitors to the new facility – a group of over 150 investors, food tech startups, government representatives, and food manufacturers – were given a taste of a range of vegan cheeses made using the microalgae protein. It’s an example of the pain points Brevel is looking to address – research suggests that a majority (73%) of Americans are unhappy with the flavour and texture of non-dairy cheese. It’s perhaps why household penetration remains so low: while 97% of US households buy conventional cheese, only 7% purchase dairy-free analogues.

Sidestream valorisation drives down financial and carbon costs

Brevel, which has raised $22.5M in funding, has equipped its new facility with advanced bioproduction labs, spacious working environments, a modern food application lab, and state-of-the-art quality control equipment.

One of the startup’s key differentiators is the low production costs, which are on par with soy and pea proteins. This is facilitated by its efforts to valorise the algae sidestream – instead of discarding the byproducts from the manufacturing process, Brevel uses them to make clean-label emulsifiers and nutritional boosters for functional foods and supplements.

“The reason that soy protein is cheap is because protein is only one of the sidestreams extracted from the soybean, alongside oil, fibres, gluten and others,” says Golan. “Co-products are a key part of Brevel’s business model… The combination of light and fermentation enables the production of a large variety of valuable co-products, and not mere basic sidestreams.”

Making use of byproducts further cuts the company’s climate footprint – food waste accounts for up to 10% of global emissions – and supports further food applications. “The polar lipids will be used as a functional emulsifier in food applications, the soluble fibres will be used in food applications as well, the pigments as high-value health supplements, and we are looking into additional fractions as well,” he explains.

Brevel will supply its protein to manufacturers across the globe, some of which are investors in the startup. While Golan doesn’t go into specifics when asked about strategic partners, he reveals that two of them are dairy and beverage companies worth over $2B, and a couple others are interested in building large manufacturing facilities as joint ventures.

”We have strategised several joint-venture partnerships in the US, Europe, and Asia. The result will be the construction of larger facilities to fulfil growing demands for our sustainable protein in multiple applications,” Golan says. These facilities are set to have fermentation capacities of 900,000 litres and beyond, and while their production capacity will depend on the joint ventures’ needs, this is expected to range between thousands and tens of thousands of tons annually.

“Following these, the final target is to reach capacities of millions of tons to meet the demand of the growing plant-based food industry,” he suggests. Golan adds that Brevel currently has a “long enough runway to work with” in terms of capital, but is “always speaking with investors” over its long-term vision.

It is among a host of startups leveraging the potential of microalgae, which is set to be a $25.4B market by 2033. These include Checkerspot, Mewery, Quazy Foods, Ocean Kiss, Algama, Sophie’s Bionutrients, and Triton Algae, among others.

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Germany’s Kynda has broken ground on a 6,200 sq m commercial facility that will allow it to produce 2,000 tonnes of mycelium meat each year.

Hamburg-based biotech startup Kynda, which makes plug-and-play bioreactors, starter cultures and mycelium protein ingredients, has begun work on a commercial facility to scale up production of its Kynda Meat.

The development comes two months after the company received planning permission for the new factory, a 6,200 sq m site with two production halls sprawling 720 sq m each. Equipped with 30,000 litres of fermentation capacity, the facility will allow Kynda to manufacture 2,000 tonnes of mycelium protein annually, which can be used to make products like chicken and pork analogues, and even dog food.

“We’ve outgrown our current lab and fermentation facilities which were, ironically, based in a former pig barn,” said CEO Daniel MacGowan von Holstein. “We’re therefore thrilled to witness the expansion of our production facilities to continue shaping the future of food production.”

Sustainable, nutritious and affordable mycelium meat

Founded in 2019 by von Holstein and COO Franziskus Schnabel, Kynda makes use of fungi and food industry sidestreams like soy-, oat- and rice-okara. These byproducts undergo a submerged biomass fermentation process, where microorganisms are rapidly grown in a liquid medium, and the entire biomass becomes the end product.

Alongside its proprietary process, Kynda’s fungal strain – which is already compliant with the EU’s novel foods regulations and presents no major regulatory hurdles – allows it to produce mycelium protein in just 48 hours, compared to seven to 10 days for the industry standard.

The resulting ingredient is a raw material that is cheaper to produce than plant-based texturates, and boasts environmental and nutritional aspects that will entice manufacturers. Kynda Meat emits 700% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than pea protein, an ingredient used by industry giants like Beyond Meat.

It also has a protein content of 37% in dry matter and comprises all nine essential amino acids. Plus, it’s low in fat, rich in fibre and vitamins, and allergen-free. These attributes make the meat suitable for use in both plant-based and hybrid meat applications.

“From the outset, our focus has been on crafting a product that is nutritious, sustainable, and accessible to consumers seeking environmentally conscious options,” said Schnabel.

Kynda Meat was unveiled at the Internorga trade fair in Hamburg in March, as part of a collaboration with plant-based pork producer The Raging Pig Company, which swapped 17% of the high-moisture-extruded pea protein in its burger with Kynda’s mycelium meat.

“By replacing highly processed raw materials with Kynda’s fermentation solution, we are answering the call of many consumers for healthy meat alternatives,” Raging Pig co-founder Arne Ewerbeck said at the time. He added that the partnership enabled his company to significantly lower production costs and be “finally able to compete with heavily subsidised meat producers”.

Kynda goes global as fungi protein flourishes

The mycelium burger patties showcased at the event served as a precursor to Kynda Meat’s market launch in Germany later this year, with further deals with B2C companies in both foodservice and retail soon to follow. Beyond Europe, Kynda is also in discussions with potential partners in Asia and North America.

“With the new production capacities, we strengthen our cooperation with industrial food companies and thus further expand our growth course – and respond to the increasing global demand for sustainable proteins,” said von Holstein.

Kynda is in the middle of a $4M seed funding round, and, last year, it received a non-dilutive grant from Germany’s food and agriculture ministry to scale up its fermentation platform and produce mycelium protein more efficiently. It’s one of several fungi protein producers in the country, including Nosh.bio, Bosque Foods and Infinite Roots (which closed a $58M Series B round in January, claimed to be the largest mycelium investment in Europe). Like Kynda, all these companies are valorising industry sidestreams.

Interest in fungi proteins has been expanding lately, with US mycelium producer Meati bagging $100M in Series C1 financing earlier this month, the biggest alternative protein investment since 2022. And last week, Finnish mycoprotein startup Enifer received €24M in new funding to build a commercial-scale factory.

Mycelium proteins have been acclaimed for their environmental and nutritional prowess, superior taste and texture, and potential to address food insecurity and global hunger. Companies like Kynda, which are leveraging agricultural byproducts, are advancing these claims by tackling food waste, which results in $1T in annual economic losses and contributes to 8-10% of global emissions.

The post Kynda is Building A Large-Scale Mycelium Facility to Turn Food Waste into Meat in 48 Hours appeared first on Green Queen.

Finnish biotech startup Enifer has received €24M in new investments to support the construction of a commercial-scale facility for its Pekilo mycoprotein. It expects to receive EU novel food approval by 2026.

The latest set of funding involves a €15M Series B round led by Taaleri Bioindustry Fund I, with participation from existing investors Nordic Foodtech VC, Voima Ventures and Valio. This sum was complemented by a €7M junior loan by the Finnish Climate Fund, and a €2M loan by state-owned financer Finnvera.

In addition to this, Enifer had also received a €12M grant from the EU’s NextGenerationEU recovery instrument in January. It brings the company’s 2024 financing to €36M, which it will use to build a new mycoprotein factory in Kirkkonummi, Finland. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2025, and will upscale the startup’s process of converting food industry sidestreams into fungi protein ingredients.

The factory is set to cost €33M and slated to be the first commercial plant to produce upcycled mycoprotein. Enifer will use the remaining €3M from the latest investments for “R&D and other ongoing projects that are under development, including finalising novel food dossiers”, according to co-founder and CEO Simo Ellilä. To date, the company has now received €50M in financing, including equity, loans and grants.

“Food production is – even at the level of technologies that can already be scaled – an unsolved key part of the climate challenge. In the future, sustainable food production will be based on several different solutions and the demand for new types of proteins is predicted to grow significantly over the next decade,” said Toni Mikkonen, CEO of the Finnish Climate Fund. “Enifer’s already-tested technology is interesting as the nutrients of various sidestreams can be upcycled and their processing value increased instead of energy use.”

Enifer’s Pekilo protein targets multiple industries

Originating as a spinoff from the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland in 2020, Enifer was founded by five scientists to further develop and commercialise its Pekilo protein.

The mycoprotein leverages a submerged biomass fermentation process that was originally developed to upcycle forest industry sidestreams into pig and chicken feed in Finland nearly 50 years ago. While the fungal strain was fed with a byproduct of paper making, Enifer has adapted the process to food and agricultural sidestreams to develop food-grade mycoprotein. It currently uses lactose permeate (which is derived from the ultrafiltration of milk to separate lactose from proteins and fats) as one of its feedstocks.

“To make food-grade mycoprotein, we need to use food-grade sidestreams. At the first factory, we are mainly focusing on sidestreams from the sugar/starch industries and dairy industry,” said Ellilä. Valio, [a major dairy company in Finland] is one of our shareholders, and we work closely with them.”

The process – not too dissimilar to making soy sauce or brewing beer – generates a fibre-rich powder with varying quantities of protein, depending on the application. Pekilo can be used in foods for human consumption (with up to 55% protein concentration), pet food (over 60% of protein), and even aquaculture feed (up to 65% of protein).

The mycoprotein powder is also neutral in colour and flavour, enabling use in diverse applications. “In food applications, we’ve successfully used Pekilo in very diverse applications,” said Ellilä. “While we expect the main use cases to be in alt-meat and -dairy products, it also has great promise in baking, cereals, snacks, etc. The fact that it is neutral (beige) in colour and flavour allows it to blend into most recipes.”

Enifer eyes EU novel food approval by 2026

At full capacity, the new factory will be able to churn out around 450kg of mycoprotein per hour. Since it will run for about 11 months of the year (when factoring in maintenance and other breaks), this translates to an annual capacity of approximately 300 tonnes, which will be enough to meet the annual protein needs of 40,000 people.

Producing 1kg of Pekilo emits just 1.66kg of CO2e – that is a 98% smaller footprint than beef, and half as much as milk production. Combining that with the fact that it uses sidestreams to advance the circular economy, it makes for a highly sustainable future food ingredient.

Enifer’s factory will be built as a brownfield project – instead of constructing it on new land, it’ll tap into a previously used industrial site. The location is a 30-minute drive to Enifer’s existing R&D plant in Helsinki, and offers the new factory utilities like steam, electricity, process and cooling water, and wastewater treatment. It’s expected to ramp up operations in 2026.

Later this year, Enifer will file a novel food dossier to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), whose approval is required to commercialise Pekilo. “Our factory will be based in Finland, and expected to mainly serve the Nordic market. Therefore, we need access to the EU, so we’re filing with EFSA, said Ellilä. “Since that is also the most difficult one, we plan to use the generated data to also file in Singapore, and the US in the not-too-distant future.”

The company has already established industry partnerships with major players, including Nutreco’s aquafeed division, Skretting, and pet food giant Purina. “We produce a dry ingredient powder. We are bioprocess engineers and our company’s core know-how is in the production process,” Ellilä said when asked why Enifer opted for a B2B approach.

“Food companies are best placed to make final B2C products, with their existing product formulators, sales channels and marketing. It’s hard enough for a start-up to fund a factory – building another factory for consumer products, plus sales, marketing, etc. is not realistic for us,” he added.

Enifer is part of a rapidly growing fungi protein space. Fellow mycoprotein player Enough is also constructing a facility for its Abunda mycoprotein, following a €40M Series C round last year. Quorn, meanwhile, has been selling mycoprotein-based meat analogues since the 1980s. And, earlier this month, mycelium meat producer Meati bagged a $100M investment to fuel its retail expansion.

The post Enifer Gets €24M in New Funding to Build Mycoprotein Factory That Will Feed 40,000 People Each Year appeared first on Green Queen.

The Singapore Food Agency has granted a food production licence to ScaleUp Bio’s commercial-scale facility for submerged- and precision-fermented ingredients.

ScaleUp Bio has received a food manufacturing licence from Singapore’s regulatory body to allow companies to produce fermentation-derived ingredients on an industrial scale.

A joint venture between Nurasa (the food innovation platform of state-owned investment firm Temasek) and global nutrition giant ADM, ScaleUp Bio is now one of just a few contract development and manufacturing organisations (CDMOs) globally to be approved as a food production facility.

It means food tech startups can use its newly opened 2,300 sq m facility to produce ingredients derived from submerged microbial and precision fermentation technologies. Situated in the high-tech manufacturing district of Tuas in west Singapore, the plant has fermentation and associated downstream processing capacities of up to 10,000 litres.

It represents another major milestone for Singapore’s thriving food tech ecosystem – at least 25 non-local companies have a presence in the city-state for R&D and business development, while it’s home to almost a quarter (24%) of all alternative protein startups in Asia-Pacific.

Advancing fermentation companies’ route to market

First announced in October 2022, the facility houses innovation hubs and technical specialists to ensure quality control and safe production standards, alongside a full suite of business advisory, Asia market entry, and other related services.

The food manufacturing licence signals its fulfilment of the Singapore Food Agency’s (SFA) stringent regulations. These requirements entail adherence to specific infrastructure and facility standards for food safety production, and emphasise training, collaboration, and regulatory compliance to uphold hygiene and operational excellence.

“ScaleUp Bio’s value proposition offers anyone with the next best concept in food to bring that idea to reality, and to pilot stage commercial production in Singapore, backed by a blue-chip corporate ecosystem of support. With this milestone, we are moving one step forward towards enabling the next food revolution,” said ScaleUP Bio CEO Francisco Codoñer. “We are deeply grateful to SFA for this milestone, and we are ready to go.”

“At Nurasa, we are committed to pioneering a new world of sustainably produced nutrition solutions for our planet,” added Nurasa CEO Guo Xiu Ling. “ScaleUp Bio’s milestone from SFA is a pivotal step forward in this journey.”

Last November, ScaleUp Bio secured its first customers to aid process optimisation and scale up production. Australia’s Nourish Ingredients, which makes precision-fermented fats for meat and dairy analogues, teamed up with the CDMO to support its Asia growth. It will be supported by the 10,000-litre fermentation and 100-litre thermal processing capacity provided by ScaleUp Bio. Nourish Ingredient’s Tastilux fat is already undergoing the SFA’s regulatory approval process.

Additionally, it also signed letters of intent with New York-based C16 Biosciences (which makes a fermented palm oil alternative), Malaysian plant-based meat brand Ultimeat, and Singaporean food tech startup Allium Bio, which co-cultures algae and mycelium to turn into functional ingredients like protein isolates.

Twin fermentation facilities represent ‘pioneering initiative’

ScaleUp Bio’s facility complements its Fermentation Joint Lab, part of Nurasa’s 3,840 sq m Food Tech Innovation Centre (FTIC), which was publicly unveiled earlier this month.

Developed and operated by ScaleUp Bio and the state-owned Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR), the food-grad lab has bioreactors with a capacity of up to 100 litres and enables startups to foster their ideas via R&D.

This is, in fact, one of two facilities operated by ScaleUp Bio within the FTIC. The second one is home to its new headquarters, and focuses on high-moisture extrusion (HME) for plant proteins to make meat analogues with superior texture and mouthfeel.

The CDMO has also penned deals with partners for its Fermentation Joint Lab, which sees fellow Singaporean companies Allozymes and Algrow Biosciences accelerate the development of their precision-fermented engineering platform and algae protein pigment, respectively. Meanwhile, Canada’s Terra Bioindustries, which upcycled agrifood products into sustainable inputs, and the UK’s Argento Labs, which uses biotech to develop high-value products, have signed letters of intent too.

These clients will benefit from the nutrition and innovation expertise provided by ADM too. “ScaleUp Bio stands as a significant joint venture with Temasek’s Nurasa, demonstrating our commitment to meeting Asia’s unique food needs.,” said Gary McGuigan, ADM’s Asia-Pacific president. “We look forward to continuing our support for ScaleUp Bio and aspiring food-tech companies as we collectively pave the way for a more sustainable food system.”

Codoñer said the two fermentation facilities “represent a pioneering initiative for Singapore and globally”. “From R&D to pilot scale, our fermentation expertise ensures excellence,” he stated, inviting food tech startups to engage with its facilities. “Transitioning from bench to market? Our collaborative ecosystem – including parent and sister companies, research institutions, and industry partners – offers guidance.”

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Dutch plant-based meat startup The Vegetarian Butcher has teamed up with Californian precision fermentation pioneer The Every Company to use its animal-free egg whites in meat analogues.

Unilever-owned The Vegetarian Butcher will make use of The Every Co’s microbial egg whites as a clean-label binder in some of its meat-free formulations, marking a major collaboration in the alternative protein world.

The Vegetarian Butcher’s chicken, beef, pork and fish analogues are present in thousands of retailers and foodservice outlets across Europe and beyond. Its partnership with The Every Co – the only company that has commercialised precision-fermented egg proteins – is a step in its efforts to do away with chicken-derived eggs from its entire lineup.

Incorporating the animal-free egg white into its meat alternatives will allow it to provide a clean-label option to consumers who are increasingly apprehensive about ultra-processed foods and long ingredient lists.

“When on a mission, we love to work with the right partners to become even more impactful together,” The Vegetarian Butcher said in a statement. “This breakthrough, clean-label ingredient is a natural fit with The Vegetarian Butcher’s mission to release animals from the food chain.”

Ditching methylcellulose for the Every EggWhite

Currently, The Vegetarian Butcher uses methylcellulose in its formulations, which is becoming less and less popular among meat analogue makers. While it’s widely used in the industry as a binder and gelling agent, its overprocessed nature, complex moniker, and use in laxatives has garnered it a bad rep – in 2022, Beyond Meat was sued for using the ingredient while putting ‘all-natural’ claims on its burgers (it no longer labels them this way).

But it’s a highly functional ingredient – it is non-toxic and allergen-free, can dissolve in cold water, and forms a gel at high temperatures. One of its most unique properties is its thermoreversibility: methylcellulose can set when hot and melt when cold. This means it provides meat analogues with a juicy bite and meatier texture, making it hard to replace.

Singaporean vegan chicken maker TiNDLE Foods uses methylcellulose to keep its plant-based meat together. On its website, it explains: “Think of it as a plant-based egg white.”

This is where The Every Co comes in. It genetically engineers yeast strains called Komagataella phaffii and feeds them on sugars to produce proteins found in eggs. Its precision-fermented EggWhite innovation contains ovalbumin, the most abundant egg protein, and provides aeration, whipping, gelling, binding, and foam stability properties.

Nick Toriello, The Every Co’s chief commercial officer, told AgFunderNews that The Vegetarian Butcher has been trying to get methylcellulose out of its formulations for “quite some time”. “What was key to them was that EVERY EggWhite was a relatively simple and straightforward product to work with as it could just serve as a drop-in replacement,” he explained. “The taste and texture of the end product is superior, and they get a cleaner label at the back end.”

The Every Co files for EU & UK approval

While its egg proteins are certified by The Vegan Society – as no animals are used or harmed to produce them – they must still carry an allergen warning. But the ‘animal-free’ or vegan message isn’t a priority for many of its partners, according to the startup.

“After years of dedicated effort to further veganise our product range, this new collaboration aims to accelerate the final steps of this process, while preserving the delicious taste and texture of our products,” The Vegetarian Butcher said.

As we reported in December, The Every Co has already been granted three ‘no further questions’ letters from the FDA in the US, but for The Vegetarian Butcher to sell any products featuring the Every EggWhite, the Californian startup will need regulatory approval in the respective countries. It has filed novel food applications in the EU and the UK.

“We aim to have that regulatory approval in parallel with the launch,” Toriello said, in relation to The Vegetarian Butcher partnership. “So the main market we’re targeting for this is the UK specifically, but we’re actively exploring near-term opportunities in other regions.”

The Dutch startup isn’t the first to use the Every EggWhite to fine-tune meat analogues – last year, Colombia’s Grupo Nutresa partnered with The Every Company to use its animal-free egg white as a binder for products under its Zenú and Pietran brands. The Silicon Valley startup has also collaborated with ingredients giant Ingredion and drinks conglomerate AB InBev in the past.

The Every Co’s 2024 priorities

The Every Co is actively producing two other products: Every Protein, a nearly transparent protein bioidentical to glycoprotein (found in egg whites) for neutral and clear-looking foods and beverages; and Every Egg, a whole egg that contains the EggWhite, plant-based oils, natural colours and flavourings, fibre and water.

These products make for viable options among the volatility of chicken eggs, which have always had unpredictable prices and are frequently affected by outbreaks of avian flu. This is a big attraction for the startup’s B2B clients. “Every customer is different. Some want to absolutely take animals out of their supply chain,” explained Toriello. “But the bigger thing we’ve noticed in the last two years is that they want stability on supply and price. And on price, we are competitive with cage-free egg white pricing today.” (The startup has raised $233M in funding so far.)

And it delivers on taste too, having impressed the likes of Daniel Humm, who hosted a special dinner at his three-Michelin-starred eatery Eleven Madison Park with the Every Egg as the centrepiece. “In collaborating with chef Humm and his team at Eleven Madison Park, we successfully demonstrated that EVERY Egg’s quality delivers on the highest standards of culinary excellence,” The Every Co CEO Arturo Elizondo, who co-founded the startup in 2014 with David Anchel, told Green Queen at the time.

Speaking to AgFunderNews, he labelled “onboarding additional manufacturing capacity and translating that into products in the marketplace” as the business’ two top priorities for the year. “We’ve proven that our technology works at scale; we’re producing regularly in 100,000-litre+ fermenters, making metric tons of product,” he said. “So it’s now a matter of continuing to dial up scale so we have enough capacity to ultimately bring the cost down.”

Lance Lively, the company’s VP and general manager, added: “What we’re thinking the most about is how can we get to the point where we can supply 20% of eggs to the top five egg users on an annualised basis.”

The post The Vegetarian Butcher to Use The Every Company’s Animal-Free Egg Whites for Plant-Based Meat appeared first on Green Queen.

San Francisco startup New Culture has partnered with South Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang on a manufacturing deal to enable low-cost production of its precision-fermented casein.

New Culture, the first precision-fermented casein producer approved for sale in the US, is amping up its efforts to make cost-effective animal-free proteins through a manufacturing deal with CJ CheilJedang, which is also an investor in the US startup.

The collaboration is focused on achieving commodity pricing for New Culture’s first product, a precision-fermented mozzarella made for pizzerias. Following a pilot partnership last year, the cheese will debut at Nancy Silverton’s Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles later this year.

“Bringing our animal-free cheese to pizza lovers everywhere means producing it at a large enough scale and low enough cost so we can compete and win on product performance,” said New Culture co-founder and CSO Inja Radman.

This is why teaming up with CJ CheilJedang, which has 10 manufacturing facilities in seven countries with millions of litres of fermentation capacity, was key for the alternative protein business. “CJ is the world’s largest producer of bioproducts made from fermentation. They operate at massive scale with some of the most sophisticated assets on the planet that produce products at commodity prices,” New Culture co-founder and CEO Matt Gibson told Green Queen.

“Even getting to this point with CJ reflects the achievements of the New Culture team to demonstrate significant technical progress and make it clear that our bioprocess was robust enough to be worth their time.”

Bringing down animal-free casein costs ‘essential’

The inherent problem with casein – a $2.7B market – is that it’s a dairy protein, and is not friendly to the environment. While New Culture, which is one of just a handful of companies making animal-free analogues of the conventional protein, has not conducted a life-cycle assessment itself, it has analysed publicly available data for comparable processes to estimate that its manufacturing represents at least an 80% drop in greenhouse gas emissions, 95% reduction in land use, and 95% decrease in blue water consumption compared to dairy-based mozzarella production.

But despite delivering such huge climate gains, precision fermentation is still an expensive technology, and bringing down costs is vital if it’s to appeal to the masses. New Culture has claimed that its animal-free casein can produce cheese worth 25,000 pizzas per batch. “Against the backdrop of the almost $9B US mozzarella market, we are currently producing our mozzarella at a (relatively) modest scale and will be for years to come,” said Gibson.

“Once we launch and expand our manufacturing capacity – enabled by this partnership with CJ and our previously announced partnership with ADM – our costs will fall dramatically.” The company has previously noted that scaling up can help cut manufacturing costs by 80%, and Gibson confirmed that its technological prowess and bioprocess will help it reach price parity for pizzerias within three years.

“Reaching price parity is essential for the long-term success of New Culture,” he said. The startup conducted a survey in January, which revealed that 80% of people interested in its animal-free cheese eat animal products. Meanwhile, early adopters are happy to pay $4 more per pizza with the company’s cheese.

“We have a product that is already outcompeting conventional mozzarella in tastings and early adopters are extremely eager to make the shift to animal-free dairy,” said Gibson. “Yet, it’s only by bringing the cost down that we will be able to convert the mainstream consumer who might love our product but be more price-sensitive.”

CJ CheilJedang deal will aid New Culture’s profitability plans

“This partnership with CJ sets us up to achieve price parity to attract those more mainstream consumers, and keeps us on the same timeline trajectory we previously shared,” said Gibson.

Asked how the collaboration will work, he explained: “We’ll coordinate with CJ experts on the details of scale-up and cost drivers including considering facility options, engineering requirements, process optimisation opportunities, and more.

“CJ has a range of world-class bioprocess assets in several countries around the world. We are working with them to understand which sites could be the most cost-effective to run New Culture’s process in order to produce our animal-free casein at the lowest price possible.”

Backed by the likes of Kraft Heinz, SOSV and CJ CheilJedang itself, the company brought in $25M in a Series A round in 2021, and now hopes to strengthen its manufacturing position and path to profitability. “At New Culture, our goal is to build an enduring business that can span decades in order to have as much positive impact on the dairy industry as possible,” said Gibson.

“We believe that sort of long-term success depends on fruitful partnerships with established, industry-leading companies. We aren’t going into this partnership with CJ with any constraints on how long we could work together,” he added.

“Since our initial investment in New Culture in 2022, the CJ CheilJedang team has continued to be impressed by the company’s technical progress, robust bioprocess, and global ambition in the animal-free dairy industry,” said Seung June Choi, senior VP of strategic planning at CJ CheilJedang. “Whether through commercial manufacturing, procurement, or other technical support, this partnership enables the full scope of our expertise to accelerate New Culture’s growth and market leadership.”

What goes into New Culture’s mozzarella?

In February, New Culture reached a milestone after obtaining self-affirmed GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status for its animal-free casein, and announced its plans to launch at Pizzeria Mozza. Gibson confirmed that the animal-free mozzarella is made from “New Culture casein, water, common plant-based fats, and minerals that are naturally occurring in animal cheese”.

“Whether protein, fat, calcium, or other nutritionals, crafting our cheese from real (animal-free) casein enables us to deliver a nutritional profile comparable to what consumers expect from conventional dairy mozzarella,” he said. “This is an important differentiator for New Culture cheese vs existing plant-based options, which are low in protein, high in carbs, and often made from top allergens.”

“I’ve always been of the school of thinking that just because it’s a substitute doesn’t mean it needs to be anything less than spectacular,” Silverton said in May 2023. “When I tried New Culture cheese, I was surprised and excited by the integrity of the product and really felt it lived up to our standards.”

“We’re thrilled about the level of excitement and anticipation from pizza lovers who want a tasty, animal-free option,” said Gibson. “Preparing for any launch requires significant coordination and we’re working hard to get our cheese out into the world as fast as we possibly can.”

Australian-American startup Change Foods, Austria’s Fermify, Indian player Zero Cow Factory, and Paris-based Standing Ovation are working on precision-fermented casein too. California’s Nobell Foods and Israel’s Finally Foods are using molecular farming to produce the protein, while New York-based Pureture and San Francisco startup Climax Foods are producing vegan casein.

The post New Culture Strikes Deal with CJ CheilJedang to Drive Down Animal-Free Casein Costs appeared first on Green Queen.

Singaporean food tech startup TurtleTree has partnered with a nutrition brand to debut its precision-fermented lactoferrin as part of an espresso shot for endurance athletes.

Six months after obtaining self-affirmed GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) certification in the US, TurtleTree has announced its first commercial partnership, teaming up with Cadence Performance Coffee for a line of cold brew espresso shots infused with its animal-free lactoferrin powder, LF+.

The ready-to-drink coffee product will be available in original and salted caramel flavours, with a potential price of $7 for each 2.5oz shot. It will be rolled out in the summer via the e-commerce channel, before moving to Amazon and brick-and-mortar retail.

“Cadence as a company is focused on human performance and lactoferrin, as a valued milk protein, has a number of applications around functional health,” TurtleTree co-founder and CEO Fengru Lin told Green Queen. “Our goal is to make lactoferrin synonymous with performance nutrition so this is the perfect partner for us to kick off with. The coffee creation with added health benefits aligns well with the TurtleTree mission.”

Dan LaValley, founder of Cadence Performance Coffee, said: “We worked with TurtleTree very successfully on a project that was introduced at a sustainable nutrition summit in Egypt.” TurtleTree was the official drink partner at COP27, unveiling a sparkling drink using its lactoferrin.

“We knew the capabilities of the company and about the wonderful team, and we have our own connections to UC Davis as well [the site of TurtleTree’s R&D headquarters],” he added. “As we started to develop high-performance espresso shots, it was only natural for us to want to work with TurtleTree and to bring the LF+ shot to market.”

LaValley revealed that the brand is now developing other products using LF+ as well, including canned cold brew coffee and a yoghurt.

Targeting iron regulation for elite performance

TurtleTree explained that coffee and lactoferrin have a symbiotic relationship – the former’s effects on metabolic activity will speed the absorption of the animal-free milk protein into targeted physiological processes. The ready-to-drink functional espresso is geared towards enhancing the performance of endurance athletes, with a particular focus on iron deficiency.

Iron deficiency affects 30-50% of athletes participating in endurance sports like triathlons, marathons and high-altitude sports. Low levels of the nutrient can lead to fatigue, shortness of breath and weakness, among other challenges. But one of lactoferrin’s main functions is iron regulation, and the high iron content gives the protein a reddish hue, earning it its ‘pink gold’ nickname.

The protein can bind iron, which improves red blood cell production, iron circulation and stored iron levels, which is crucial for peak athletic performance. The iron-binding properties also support advanced immune function. Plus, lactoferrin regulates gut health, maintaining microbiota diversity and supporting intestinal barrier function.

But while it’s a highly sought-after protein, the global supply of lactoferrin – which is found in human milk and bovine colostrum just after birth – is strained, given it takes at least 10,000 litres of milk to produce just 1kg of purified lactoferrin. That drives up prices, with the protein retailing for $750-$1,500 per kg. It means lactoferrin is used in limited applications, like supplementation and infant nutrition (the latter is responsible for 60% of the protein’s supply).

Innovations like LF+, which is completely soluble, allow manufacturers to meet the growing demand for the protein for adult nutrition. “We are focused on creating better-for-you food and beverages, boosting iron, immune function, and gut health,” said Lin. “The Cadence Cold Brew Espresso Shots with LF+ does exactly that and is a synergistic combination to give folks the energy they need for their day.”

Cadence Performance Coffee has experience in bringing advanced nutrition products and tools – like the deltaG ketone technology – to elite athletes, astronauts, “extreme job executives” and military units. “Cadence will offer a ketone espresso shot as well as the lactoferrin product, then in the future will likely combine the two for a third SKU,” said LaValley.

“We are also looking at using an active ingredient called C60 (Carbon 60), but this product is still in early development.”

A breakthrough for the precision fermentation sector

The announcement marks a milestone for the precision fermentation industry, with TurtleTree being the first company to commercialise an animal-free lactoferrin product. The startup has indicated that its clients are interested in purchasing $500M worth of LF+ over the next five years.

It has managed to scale up production and subsequently bring down costs for LF+, which Lin confirmed is priced the same as the market value of bovine lactoferrin. Its uses transcend infant formula, supplements/multivitamins and functional beverages – it will be useful for producers of protein powders, meal replacements for the elderly, and animal-free dairy products.

When TurtleTree obtained self-determined GRAS status in November, it had outlined its intention to notify the FDA for a ‘no further questions’ letter – which is seen as a more transparent process that enhances market and consumer confidence – at some point this year. “We are preparing to file our dossier before Q3 2024,” confirmed Lin.

TurtleTree’s self-affirmed GRAS announcement has been followed by a spate of similar regulatory breakthroughs for the precision fermentation sector. Californian startup The Every Co received its third ‘no further questions’ letter for its animal-free egg proteins in December, followed by Israel’s Imagindairy earning the same status for its whey protein a month later. In March, San Francisco’s New Culture became the first company to attain self-affirmed GRAS status for animal-free casein, Dutch startup Vivici obtained this certification for its whey protein, and California’s Oobli received FDA approval for its sweet protein.

The lactoferrin market itself is estimated to grow by 15.8% annually to reach $3.3B in 2033. Australia’s All G Foods, New York’s Helaina, and British-South African startup De Novo Foodlabs are all working on precision-fermented lactoferrin. The latter has conducted a life-cycle assessment to find that its protein would potentially have a 99.9% lower GHG footprint, land use and water use than conventional lactoferrin.

In February, TurtleTree also earned a vegan certification for LF+, though it must be noted that this doesn’t mean it’s suitable for people with dairy allergies. The move, which the startup itself labelled as a “hot-button” issue, could potentially create confusion among consumers who assume vegan products are automatically dairy-free – which was typically the case until the commercialisation of precision-fermented dairy proteins.

“Given that to date, consumers tend to understand ‘vegan’ as ‘plant-based’, and therefore not expect to encounter a milk allergen, labelling milk protein made via fermentation as vegan could lead to confusion around allergenicity,” Irina Gerry, chief marketing officer of US-Australian precision fermentation company Change Foods and vice-chair of the board of the Precision Fermentation Alliance, told Green Queen at the time. “I always look at it from the end consumer in mind. If a company is targeting a vegan audience, then obtaining vegan certification would be highly beneficial.”

In response, TurtleTree has explained its stance on the subject. “TurtleTree proactively decided that achieving vegan certification for our first LF+ product was key to our mission and focus. This was a resource-intensive choice to help customers better understand that our lactoferrin is animal-free and can provide the same benefits such as iron regulation, immune function, and gut health as traditional dairy lactoferrin,” it said.

“We acknowledge the potential for confusion that has been raised, as it relates to dairy allergen statements. The FDA requires any precision fermentation-derived protein to carry a dairy allergen warning. We hope to work with the FDA to change their stance on this in the future. So, even though we are dairy-free, vegan, animal-free, and lactose-free, we must provide this warning on our product and we do. We are not looking to hide this warning with our vegan certification but to give more information to consumers as they begin to choose healthier alternatives.”

This story was updated to add TurtleTree’s response to the vegan certification debate.

The post TurtleTree to Debut Animal-Free Lactoferrin with Espresso Shot for Endurance Athletes appeared first on Green Queen.

Colorado-based food tech startup Meati has closed a $100M Series C1 funding round, the largest investment in an alternative protein company since 2022.

Mycelium meat innovator Meati has secured $100M in Series C1 funding, taking its total raised to $365M since being founded seven years ago. It is the largest investment in an alternative protein startup since Meati’s own $150M Series C round in 2022.

The latest round was led by Grosvenor Food & AgTech, and included returning investors like Prelude Ventures, Bond, Revolution Growth and Congruent. The capital injection was accompanied by the appointment of Grosvenor Food & AgTech’s Katrin Burt and Prelude Ventures’ Mark Cupta to Meati’s board.

“We will use the funding for a variety of purposes, including maintaining our high growth momentum and scaling to additional retail locations across the US,” newly appointed CEO Phil Graves tells Green Queen. “We are also working to continue building awareness of MushroomRoot and helping consumers understand that our highly nutritious and nature-based whole food protein is very different from the plant-based alternatives currently available.”

In addition to the funding, the mycelium chicken and beef producer expanded into 2,000 Kroger stores in April, cementing the company’s rapid growth from six retail locations to 6,000 doors nationwide within a year. Meati now aims to reach 10,000 stores by the end of 2024.

A major investment round in a deserted sector

Meati’s sizeable raise comes on the back of a tough year for alternative proteins, both in terms of sales and investment. In the US, retail dollar sales of plant-based meat fell by 12% in 2023, while funding in alternative proteins was down by 44% from the year before, according to industry think tank the Good Food Institute. This was reflective of the wider landscape around food tech, where venture capital dried up last year.

Even fermentation protein companies like Meati – which employs biomass fermentation for its flagship MushroomRoot ingredient – saw funding dip by 39%. That said, this sector has already attracted $228M this year (not counting Meati’s raise), thoroughly outpacing plant-based ($58M) and cultivated meat ($12M) in financing so far.

Meati’s Series C1 round means fermentation companies have now brought in over five times more money than plant-based and 27 times more than cultivated protein startups in 2024.

“It’s a tough investment market for everyone. Unfortunately, plant-based products have experienced a dip in sales, and that’s largely due to a lack of transparency about ingredients and nutrition,” says Graves. “Shoppers care about versatility, nutritional value, and flavour, something we prioritise in our products. MushroomRoot isn’t plant-based; it’s not an animal, either. We are a unique category of whole-food protein.”

He argues that this is exactly what made Meati stand out for investors. “Our MushroomRoot products are second to none – they are the healthiest protein on the planet,” he notes. “The Meati team has deep experience working across high-growth CPG businesses. They are experts in their fields and have successfully brought a novel food product to market, scaling to over 6,000 in a little over a year’s time. That kind of growth is unheard of and largely due to the innovation taking place within our mega ranch [facility in Thornton, which can produce 40 million lbs of product per year].”

Rounding off the reasons why Meati has been successful in raising capital, he adds: “We have a strong and loyal consumer base, as evidenced by our high repurchase rate and continued placement as one of the top-selling SKUs for our retailers in the alternative protein category.”

Leadership changes and layoffs

The investment comes on the back of a host of changes in the C-suite for the Colorado startup. In February, Graves – a former Patagonia executive – joined Meati as its CFO. Two weeks later, however, he was appointed CEO, taking over from co-founder Tyler Huggins, who became the chief innovation officer. The same month, then-COO and president Scott Tassani left the company too.

Now, Huggins is moving into an advisory role. “When Justin Whiteley and I founded Meati, we set out to harness the power of nature to make awesome products that were a positive force for good in the world,” he says. “It’s inspiring to see how far we’ve come in a short period of time, and I’m ready to pass the day-to-day running of the company to Phil Graves and the leadership team to take it to the next level.”

“While changes in leadership are always impactful, Meati is in a strong position to meet our goals and continue to scale our products in retailers around the country,” says Graves. “Our leadership team, and our board, have strong and diverse experience in high-growth CPG companies and in building sustainable, profitable companies.”

The company also reduced its headcount by 13% in February, which was the third round of cuts made by Meati in nine months. Asked if the business is exploring further layoffs, Graves says: “We are not planning any changes to our team at this time.”

Meati’s bid for profitability

The cutbacks were part of a right-sizing move aimed at reaching profitability, with the target of reaching $1B in sales by the end of 2025. While that goal was thought to be pushed back after the restructuring, the company has certainly made progress since, growing its retail footprint from 3,600 in February to 6,000 now. “We are on track to be in 7,000 retail locations by the end of May,” reveals Graves.

These retailers include Super Target, Whole Foods, Sprouts Farmers Market, Meijer, Wegmans and now Kroger and its Family of Companies (which comprise the likes of Ralphs, City Market, Dillons and more). They carry the Eat Meati range of whole-cut chicken cutlets and steaks. The startup has previously also rolled out chicken nuggets and a line of MushroomRoot Jerky, alongside an online D2C marketplace, but it’s now shifted focus to its retail expansion and aforementioned core product line.

But Graves – who remains positive about the “strong potential” of plant-based foods, noting that the “category as a whole has learned the lesson of greater transparency with consumers” – says the company’s products perform well with customers.

“Meati has grown exponentially over the last year: we are available in all 50 states and within a 20-mile radius for 200 million Americans,” he explains. “40% of our purchases come from consumers who have never tried animal-free protein before and we have consistently maintained 60% repurchase rates, which is something you don’t see in the industry.”

Looking ahead to the rest of the year, he reiterates that the company is on track for a significant retail expansion in the US. He adds: “We’re focused on scaling our product, managing growth and achieving our goal of being the first gross margin-positive alternative protein company.”

The post Meati Raises $100M in Largest Alt-Protein Investment Since 2022, Expands to 6,000 Stores appeared first on Green Queen.