Plant-based meat startup v2food has raised $35 million in its Series A funding round, said by the company to be the largest raise in the plant-based meat sector to date.
The company behind Hungry Jack’s Rebel Whopper officially launched in October and will see the funding go towards the expansion of its R&D efforts, including building a new research and production facility, which is planned to start operating in regional Australia in 2020.
v2food is supported by Main Sequence Ventures and Jack Cowin’s Competitive Foods Australia, as well as working with Australia’s national science agency CSIRO to create products that look, cook and taste like meat.
The $35 million is supported by Main Sequence Ventures, Horizons Ventures, Fairfax Family investment fund Marinya Capital and venture capital firm Sequoia Capital China.
Founder and CEO of v2food Nick Hazell said this was an important step towards the company’s goal of transforming the way the world produces food.
“There is a big shortfall between the amount of meat we produce today and the amount needed to feed the growing global population,” he said.
“There will be nearly 10 billion people on Earth by 2050. Our mission is clear — to provide everyday people with plant-based meat that tastes great and is good for the environment.
“It's imperative that we scale quickly because these global issues need immediate solutions and we are fortunate to have secured these outstanding global partners to help propel us forward.”
v2food further plans to use the funds to expand its footprint in Australia, develop a “highly scalable” supply chain and expand its sales and marketing efforts offshore, particularly throughout the Asia-Pacific.
Marinya Capital managing director Nicholas Fairfax said: “The v2food team has created a truly world-class product in an area that is seeing massive growth and demand.
“We’re incredibly excited to back this home-grown startup to help bring v2food not only to consumers across Australia but the world.”
v2food plans to launch new products across Australia in early 2020.
