Hooked Foods CEO: Underwhelming Sales of Plant-Based Leaders Has ‘Scared Investors’

Tom Johansson, co-founder and CEO of Swedish vegan meat maker Hooked Foods, says3 underperforming big players have “scared” investors interested in the plant-based sector.

The slow sales progress of leading plant-based companies in recent years has made investment a challenge for the whole vegan category, according to one startup founder.

“The market growth has slowed and big leading players such as Oatly and Beyond Meat have performed very badly on the stock market. This scares the general investors that were interested in this space before, and with less demand, there are lower valuations and less capital available to raise,” says Tom Johansson, CEO of Swedish plant-based meat startup Hooked Foods.

“The broader economic climate has indeed impacted investor appetite,” he says. “However, we see sustained interest from forward-thinking investors who recognise the long-term growth potential in sustainable food systems.”

Johansson is speaking to Green Queen after his firm raised 8.4 million kroner ($830,000) via equity financing, loans, and grants, in support of its new product launches.

“We’re delighted to have secured capital from a mix of institutional investors and strategic partners, including notable support with loans and grants from EIT Food and the EU Commission, alongside private investors aligned with our vision to transform the protein industry into a more sustainable and healthier system,” he says.

It takes the startup’s total raised to €6M, and will help it enhance distribution and invest in technology and innovation. “Companies demonstrating product-market fit, efficient operations, and consumer demand, like Hooked Foods, continue to attract investment – even if it is less than before,” notes Johansson.

Getting hooked on AI

Founded in 2019, Hooked Foods rose to fame for its seafood analogues, including salmon and tuna. It announced its expansion into chicken last year, rolling out chicken bites and chicken filets in addition to tuna and salmon bites at ICA Grupen and Coop Sverige in October.

“Our products are currently available in approximately 500 retail locations across Sweden,” says Johansson. “We’re also expanding our presence in food service, partnering with several popular restaurants and fast-food chains such as 7-Eleven and Swedish kebab restaurant chains.”

Among the new clean-label analogues is a vegan chicken kebab with 21g of protein per 100g, 7g of fibre, and bioavailable iron. “These products are competitively priced to match traditional protein products, making sustainable choices accessible for everyone. The price is at €14/kg and about €4.5 per pack (400g),” he notes.

To turbocharge its progress, the company is investing in artificial intelligence, which will help optimise logistics, production, sales and marketing.

“Specifically, we’re using AI-driven analytics to forecast demand, optimise supply chains, reduce waste, and improve customer communications at high capacity. These steps are critical in enhancing efficiency and profitability as we scale,” says Johansson.

Hooked Foods teases big year after a challenging 2024

Like much of the alternative protein industry, where investment fell by 27%, 2024 was a challenging year for Hooked Foods. Johansson ascribes this to “a declining market and a production partner that went bankrupt”.

“Main focus has been to prepare and launch our new portfolio of plant-based chicken and kebab as well as establish a new stable production with good margins and highest quality product and packaging,” Johansson says. “Despite a challenging market environment, we maintained steady monthly revenue, despite one-third of the year without a production. We see indicators of accelerating growth moving forward with our new product portfolio.”

This is reflective of the larger picture for plant-based meat and seafood, which have suffered from a loss of faith from consumers amid the pushback against ultra-processed foods. Several startups have been forced to shut or come close to it.

Meanwhile, analysis by the Good Food Institute in 2023 found that alternative seafood takes up just 1% of the overall seafood share in the US. Its 2024 research doesn’t have separate figures for seafood, but suggested that within the plant-based space, vegan seafood only accounts for 1% of the market.

“Vegan seafood is relatively new compared to plant-based meat alternatives, with consumer awareness still building,” argues Johansson. “Now, when the total plant-based meat market is not growing as strongly, it takes a large amount of resources to grow the vegan seafood market – resources we do not have at the moment.”

He adds: “At Hooked Foods, we’re skilled at creating healthy plant-based products with our technology and are now refocusing our strengths on product categories that already has a big established consumer base to create a stable profitable revenue base. We will still be offering plant-based seafood products as part of our portfolio as we see these products have a big long-term potential, but it is limited right now.”

Looking ahead, he teases 2025 as a big year for the company: “We’ll expand our product offerings [and] increase our distribution footprint across Sweden. Our core focus will remain on building a strong case in Sweden with our products, we will keep developing innovative, healthy, and delicious products, backed by enhanced AI-driven efficiencies in our operations.”