Meatless Farm Launches Crowdfunding Campaign So Customers Can Back The Plant-Based Meat Brand

Plant-based meat brand Meatless Farm is providing consumers an opportunity to “grab a share of the M…F… pie” by debuting its retail investor funding round on the crowdfunding platform Crowdcube with hopes to raise GBP£5 million(approx. US$7M) in capital that will go towards product innovation and brand expansion.

British-based Meatless Farm is looking to raise GBP£5 million in what is predicted to be one of the largest campaigns held on Crowdcube and will be offering consumers to buy into the brand from £10 (approx.US$14), meaning that the investments will be converted into shares at a discounted price at the time of its next corporate equity funding round which is scheduled to happen by the end of this year.

Launched in 2018, and currently operating in more than 20 countries including the U.K., the U.S., Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, Meatless Farm works with major retail and foodservice partners, who stock their plant-based meat range including mince, burgers, sausages, hot dogs and sausage rolls. Recording a 148% year-on-year net sales growth in 2020, the company claims to be one of the U.K.’s top three plant-based brands, alongside established brands like Quorn and Linda McCartney. 

Until now, the company had limited investment to larger investors, raising GBP£38 million (approx. US$53M) over the past three years from private and family office investors such as British media company Channel 4.

The new round will receive cornerstone investment from Bridford Investments and the capital raised will fund innovation and expansion as well as help in completing vertical integration as a part of their work towards building a regenerative company. Its “farm-to-fork” program invites investment at every stage including working with farmers on which crops to grow, ensuring traceability and building plant protein facilities like in Canada and Europe.

In a press release seen by Green Queen, founder of Meatless Farm, Morten Toft Bech said that the industry is reaching a point where plant-based protein is no longer just a niche diet, but rather has the potential to create a “full-blown revolution in food culture”. “That rests on driving awareness around the importance of reducing meat for the environment and the impact that even little changes can have. For example, in a country like the U.K., we could reduce around 8% of the U.K.’s total emissions if we all ate just one less meat meal per week.”

We are reaching a tipping point where replacing meat with plant-based protein a couple of times a week is no longer niche, but we know that it’s people’s power that will create a full-blown revolution in food culture

Morten Toft Bech, founder of Meatless Farm

Bech added: “We are investing heavily in the entire supply chain, ‘from farm to fork’, working with farmers to get the best crops, setting up state-of-the-art plant protein facilities to produce even better ingredients and recruiting top people to evolve and improve our products even further and come up with exciting new plant-based options such as pizza toppings, chicken, and a new range of snacks and meal solutions. Our consumers are central to Meatless Farm, so by opening up to individual investors at this stage we can offer the investment opportunity at a time when we have demonstrable momentum and the chance to provide funding which will help drive both Meatless Farm and the category forward, recognising that big change is only possible when we all work together.” 

During Veganuary, Meatless Farm recorded its highest sales ever, appearing on menus at U.K. high-street lunch mainstays Pret, Leon and itsu, and Nathan’s Famous in the U.S., as well as working with football giant Real Madrid to offer the team’s players plant-based meat dishes. The brand also partnered with world champion cyclist Mark Cavendish.

Our consumers are central to Meatless Farm, so by opening up to individual investors at this stage we can offer the investment opportunity at a time when we have demonstrable momentum and the chance to provide funding that will help drive both Meatless Farm and the category forward

Morten Toft Bech, founder of Meatless Farm

According to recent data, the plant-based meat market in the U.K. alone has doubled in the last two years and it is predicted that the overall global plant protein market will grow by a whopping 700% by 2035 with the market to be worth around US$290 billion. Another research by analysts at Barclays said that there is a larger opportunity for this market than was projected for electric vehicles ten years ago.

Several companies have chosen the crowdfunding route and achieved tremendous success. For instance, plant-based meat brand Heura raised €4 million (approx. US$4.8 million) within only 24 hours of its Crowdcube campaign and plant-based brand THIS attracted £4 million (US$5.24 million) through its Seedrs campaign in just 2.5 days last year.

In addition, home food waste machine Lomi, which converts food scraps, cloth and bioplastics into soil, raised US$6.8 million through its Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign and plastic-free home goods startup Bambooloo attracted over US$250,000 via equity crowdfunding.

Lead image courtesy of Meatless Farm.