Future Farm, a Brazilian foodtech startup, has raised $58 million in Series C funding. It is aiming to grow in the US and Europe with its plant-based protein substitutes.
The Series C also includes existing investors such as Monashees and Go4It Capital, Turim MFO, and Enfini Ventures. Rage Capital and XP Inc were also part of the round.
The startup was founded in 2019 and has raised $89M. It claims its business is now valued at $400M+.
Future Farms will use the Series C funding to expand its range of plant-based substitutes for meat into more retail outlets.
To cut down on its costs, it plans to expand its product range and add plant-based dairy products (including a butter substitute) to increase consumer shopping budgets.
Future Farms' current product range, which is fairly self-explanatory in branding terms is currently available in 24 countries via 10,000 point of sale. However, the LatAm startup is eager to expand that reach.
It launched products in the UK market at beginning of last year.
It also indicates that the global market for plant-based meat substitutes is valued at $4.2BN. The market in the UK is worth $0.8BN, and it is growing at 17% per year.
The global attention paid to the climate crisis (the CO26 Climate Conference is currently taking place in the UK) and the need to reduce carbon emissions is fueling demand for plant-based options to traditional meat-based meals such as hamburgers, hot dogs, and bolognese.
Investors have responded to this pressure to change eating habits by feeding dollars to a wave of foodtech startups that promise to help meat-eaters effortlessly switch to a better-for-the-planet vegan lifestyle meatballs and all (i.e. But without any meat.
Alternative protein has become a hotbed for activity in recent years. (although it is worth noting that products selling prepackaged vegetable burgers and other meat alternatives date back decades; what's new is the pressure on consumers and investor interest in this category), there are many food tech startups such as Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods and Meati.
A growing number of lab-grown meat startups are trying to preserve actual meat but improve its environmental profile. They culturing cells into vats to produce an alternative to intensive farming, which is terrible for the environment and bad for animal welfare.
No matter what happens to lab-grown meats, the future of food will require everyone to eat more plants.
