Loma Linda’s 135-Year Vegan Legacy Faces Uncertainty with Bankruptcy Filing


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Atlantic Natural Foods, the plant-based company behind Loma Linda and Tuno, has filed for bankruptcy months after withdrawing from a takeover deal by Above Food.

In the latest example of the financial challenges facing the plant-based industry, one of the US’s foremost vegan food brands has filed for bankruptcy.

Atlantic Natural Foods, whose portfolio of brands includes Loma Linda, Tuno, Chick’n, and Neat, sought Chapter 11 protection in the Eastern District of Louisiana earlier this month.

It comes five months after the company mutually terminated an agreement to be acquired by fellow plant protein maker Above Food, citing rising food inflation, supply chain disruptions, and the impact of Covid-19.

Bankruptcy filing follows withdrawal from acquisition deal

loma linda foods
Courtesy: Atlantic Natural Foods

The roots of Atlantic Natural Foods have been around for a long time. The company itself was founded in 2008, predating giants like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, but Loma Linda was first established in 1890 by John Harvey Kellogg, the founder of Kellanova.

Atlantic Natural Foods bought Loma Linda from its parent (then called Kellogg’s) in 2014, and has since expanded to over 25,000 stores in the US, plus 30 other countries.

It sells canned plant-based alternatives like hot dogs, steaks, tuna and chicken from Tuno, Chick’n and Loma Linda (an umbrella brand that also offers plant-based meals). Additionally, it makes vegan egg and meat substitutes via its Neat line and a caffeine-free coffee alternative through the Kaffree Roma range, and has a dedicated foodservice brand called Modern Menu.

The company, which has manufacturing plants in Nashville and North Carolina in the US, and Bangkok in Thailand, hasn’t provided a specific reason for its bankruptcy filing. It plans to reorganise its business over the next few months.

In its petition to the district’s bankruptcy court, it listed $10-50M in assets and $1-10M in liabilities, with 100 to 199 creditors.

The development follows Atlantic Natural Foods’s decision to pull out of an acquisition deal with Above Food, which was first announced in 2021. It was ascribed to the former’s “strategic realignment following a comprehensive evaluation of the evolving business landscape”.

Had the $30M deal gone through, Atlantic Natural Foods would have become part of Above Food’s sprawling portfolio of 120 plant-based meat, dairy and baby food products and 17 unique grains and proteins, which are distributed at over 35,000 retail points in 29 countries.

Financial hurdles drive M&As in plant-based sector

atlantic natural foods bankruptcy
Courtesy: Atlantic Natural Foods

“Operating in the industry’s ever-changing landscape has not been without its challenges, but we remain steadfast in our commitment to resetting the standards for the years ahead,” Doug Hines, chairman of Atlantic Natural Foods, said after the agreement was terminated.

“We are drawing on tried-and-true food preparation and supply methods that have withstood the test of time to meet the needs of our global consumers,” he added.

The two companies said they would continue to maintain their collaborative ties, with Atlantic Natural Foods keeping its shares in Above Foods, while the latter will retain its interest in the Loma Linda owner.

“This strategy allows us to reinstate our commitment to returning the company to its core principles, products and consumer while carrying out our mission of creating healthy food for the world in 2025 and beyond,” Hines said.

The company’s future remains uncertain, in what is a volatile landscape for the plant-based industry. Sales and investment have dipped (the latter by 75% last year), while consumers have become concerned about ultra-processed foods, despite the misconceptions around this category and plant-based meat.

These market challenges have led several companies to follow Atlantic Natural Foods’s path, with vegan pet food maker Wild Earth among the latest to file for bankruptcy. At the same time, these trends have fuelled M&A activity with companies like Wicked KitchenDeliciously EllaNuggs, Vertage, Blackbird Foods, and Allplants all being acquired in the last 12 months.

Author

  • Anay Mridul

    Anay is Green Queen's resident news reporter. Originally from India, he worked as a vegan food writer and editor in London, and is now travelling and reporting from across Asia. He's passionate about coffee, plant-based milk, cooking, eating, veganism, food tech, writing about all that, profiling people, and the Oxford comma.

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