Foodtech is beginning to expand its goals. After years of offering us breaded nuggets and ground “beef” from plant-based meat entrepreneurs, a new generation of companies is attempting to produce complete slices of meat, which are thought to be more authentic. In order to begin creating whole pieces of plant-based meat, such as seared chicken breast, Swiss-based Planted Foods, a three-year-old food-tech business known for its breaded schnitzel and convincing pulled “pork,” acquired a $75 million Series B round, according to TechCrunch on Thursday. According to Crunchbase statistics, the round was headed by consumer brand-focused L Catterton, increasing the total capital to $125.7 million.
Creating believable plant-based meat For almost ten years, newcomers like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat dominated the plant-based meat market with a kind of consistency that was frequently missing from vegan and vegetarian options like veggie burgers. Preparing complete slices of meat, however, calls for a degree of ambition that is considerably more difficult to attain than making ground meat. Certain techniques must be used in order to replicate the stringy texture of chicken breast or the various tendons of steak while keeping the flavor and extending the product’s shelf life. However, funding for these firms is starting to increase; Planted’s raise is the third-largest in the sector thus far in 2022.
For its pretty convincing range of charred chicken breast that looks like—and rips apart like—a regular chicken breast, France-based Umiami announced in April a $30 million Series A financing. With the intention of producing complete pieces of steak and poultry, Meat Foods announced in July that it had raised $150 million. However, as with most consumer goods, plant-based diets are feeling the effects of the recent economic upheaval. According to Crunchbase data, only $7 million has been raised by companies in the sector so far this year, a 58% decline from the same period in 2021.
