Blackbird Foods: Ahimsa Companies Continues Vegan Acquisition Spree with Frozen Pizza Maker

New York-based Blackbird Foods has been acquired by Ahimsa Companies, a holding company with several sustainable protein startups in its roster.

Frozen plant-based food maker Blackbird Foods has been acquired by Ahimsa Companies, an investor on a takeover spree of alternative protein players globally.

The deal will help Blackbird Foods – which makes vegan pizzas and wings, seitan, and dairy-free cheese – expand its reach, enhance its manufacturing capabilities, and accelerate product innovation.

It is Ahimsa Companies’s third M&A deal since being founded last year, after its acquisitions of leading brand Wicked Kitchen (including subsidiaries Good Catch and Current Foods) in May 2024, and nugget maker Simulate last October.

Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but Blackbird Foods co-founder and co-CEO Emanuel Storch confirmed that the New York-based startup will “still continue to operate as an independent brand and will benefit from the resources and shared services that Ahimsa provides”.

“We have always made it a goal to collaborate with other like-minded plant-based brands to expand the entire category together instead of competing with each other. We want to provide consumers with the best products while simultaneously reducing the consumption of animal products,” he told Green Queen.

“Our partnership with Ahimsa allows us to further collaborate with other brands in its portfolio and tap into more resources as part of their shared services model.”

Banking on the market for frozen vegan food

Blackbird Foods, founded in 2020 by Storch and Mike Pease, has products in Target, Whole Foods Market, Sprouts Farmers Market, and The Fresh Market, as well as restaurants like Screamer’s Pizzeria.

One of its flagship products is the pepperoni pizza, which it recently revamped with the help of industry giant Beyond Meat. The startup swapped its housemade pepperoni with the latter’s pea protein version, which it said was meatier.

In 2024, it raised $125,000 in a crowdfunding round on StartEngine, where it claimed to have recorded lifetime sales of over $11M. According to a filing with the SEC, the business made $4.47M in revenue in 2023, a 60% increase from the year before, which it attributed to increased distribution and velocity.

“We are eager to tap into Ahimsa’s extensive knowledge to strengthen Blackbird’s presence in the frozen aisle. With their support, we have ambitious plans for growth and exciting product innovations on the horizon,” said Pease.

While retail sales of plant-based meat suffered in 2024, they sold much better in the freezer than the fridge, according to market research firm Circana. Dollar sales of chilled meat analogues took a 17% dip in the 52 weeks to July 14, 2024 to reach $309M, while those in the frozen aisle only encountered a 6% loss, totalling $720M in sales.

Ahimsa Companies leads plant-based consolidation era

Backed by investors including the Ahimsa Foundation, Ahimsa Companies’s business model involves taking over companies that can reshape the sustainable food industry. The holding company has noted that consolidation is “critical to the growth and success”.

As part of a M&A roll-up strategy, Ahimsa Companies is looking at companies in the precision fermentation, cultivated meat, extruded pea protein, non-dairy alternative, and plant-based food segments, and has bought a 50,000 sq ft factory in Ohio to produce meat analogues.

“Ahimsa Companies shares our passion for plant-based innovation and animal-free food production. Together, we will continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible in plant-based cuisine while maintaining the quality and authenticity our customers love,” Storch said in a statement.

“We have major growth plans with more retail and foodservice expansion. We are also gearing up our manufacturing plant to accommodate higher output while still continuing to improve the quality of our pizzas,” he told Green Queen

The acquisition comes after investment in plant-based startups fell by 75% in 2024, reflecting an overall hesitance in food tech funding among venture capitalists. It has played a part in the string of consolidation deals the sector has seen recently – in the UK alone, food and drink M&A activity was up by 29% in 2024.

Within the global alternative protein space, such deals included UK-based Vegan Food Group’s acquisition of Meatless Farm, Clive’s Purely Plants and Tofutown after evolving into a holding company from its VFC brand, v2food’s takeover of ready meal brands Soulara and Macros, Misha’s Inc’s purchase of vegan cheese producer Vertage, and most recently, Deliciously Ella founders’ rescue of ready meal brand Allplants.

This story was updated to include quotes from Blackbird Foods co-founder and co-CEO Emanuel Storch.