Planted has successfully closed a Series B financing round, which was led by the world’s largest private equity firm for consumer goods, the UK-based L Catterton. Tengelmann Ventures from Munich is a new investor, while existing investors such as Vorwerk Ventures, Gullspång Re:food, Movendo, Be8 Ventures, ACE, ETH Zurich Foundation, Joyance and the Swiss professional footballer Yann Sommer were all also involved.
The spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH), which specializes in the area of biostructured meat substitute products developed on the basis of plant-based proteins, raised a total of 36 million Swiss francs only last year. “We are proud to be the fastest growing alternative protein company in Europe”, comments Christoph Jenny, co-founder of Planted, in a press release. Michael Farello, Managing Partner of the L Catterton Growth Fund, is of the firm conviction that “the company will continue to grow as more and more people around the world turn to alternative proteins in their daily lives”. Planted believes that “biostructured proteins will outperform animal meat in terms of taste, sustainability, health, efficiency and price”, according to the press release.
With this fresh capital injection, Planted intends to accelerate its international growth plans. The company boasts “a strong track record” in established yet nascent markets such as Switzerland, Germany, Austria and France, in addition to having displayed “good early development in new markets such as the UK and Italy”.
Moreover, the product portfolio is to be expanded with the addition of a new line of whole cut products such as a plant-based chicken breast. According to the press release, this product line is already in the final stages of market launch. Further prototypes have already been developed, while plans have also been drawn up in connection with the construction of another production facility.
