Planted: Gullspång Re:food Invests In Swiss Pea, Oats & Upcycled Sunflowers Plant-Based Meat Company

After recently closing its CHF 17 million (approx. US$18.1 million) Series A funding, in the latest announcement plant-based meat startup Planted has received an investment from food-tech investor Gullspång Re:food.

Zürich-based Planted recently closed it Series A funding round with support from Blue Horizon Ventures and consumer-focused investment arm of German conglomerate Vorwerk Ventures.

Family-owned Gullspång Invest has a track record of investing in innovative companies contributing towards a more resilient food system (e.g. Oatly and NICK’s). The newly formed subsidiary Gullspång Re:food Invests circular supply chains, healthy diets, regenerative farming, and alternative proteins and fats.

Now, Stockholm-based Gullspång Re:food, a family owned  fund that backs resilient food system winners like OATLY, has invested in Planted to help the company scale its R&D and continue its mission of delivering plant-based meat like pulled pork, chicken or kebab meat, all created from peas, oats and upcycled sunflowers through 100% natural mechanical and thermal process to more international markets as well.

The brand was founded by a student of research university ETH Zurich that granted its co-founder with a fellowship, helping the company set up and fund its pilot plant that is in the university itself. Its existing products are distributed in 3000 stores across Switzerland, Germany and Austria, through its foodservice partners as well as its e-commerce store. 

In a prior interview, the co-founder of Planted Pascal Bieri spoke about the differentiation of his products: “It’s fantastic to see how our products resonate with consumers and partners all over Europe. Unique aspects such as our natural, healthy, non-artificial ingredients and incredible taste make all the difference and are being valued by an increasing number of customers.”

Unique aspects such as our natural, healthy, non-artificial ingredients and incredible taste make all the difference and are being valued by an increasing number of customers

Bieri, co-founder of Planted

The brand’s production of their plant-based chicken requires just half the land and water as compared to its animal-based counterpart, with only two-thirds of GHGs being released.

Gullspång Re:food said they are excited to partner with Planted in their latest funding round. “This investment is part of one of our quests to back the most promising alternative protein companies. Developing sustainable meat alternatives is one of the most critical shifts the food system must undergo during the coming years to reach a sustainable and resilient state.”

The company further mentioned that the brand’s fibre texture stood out to them, as several other plant-based brands are struggling with this. This texture helps in replicating the texture of chicken and pork which Planted has achieved through extensive research and developing several structuring techniques for which it even filed patents.

According to a recent report, global plant-based meat sales can “promise substantial disruption” to traditional animal-based meats as consumers are increasingly adopting alternative protein diets along with changes in regulation to support the same. This means that as meat sales have to face the harsh reality of near-zero growth, the alternative meat market sales are expected to soar at a CAGR of around 15% until 2025.

Another report showed that in 2020 alone, despite the pandemic, European food techs received a whipping €2.7 billion (US$3.2 billion) in funding, recording a triple-digit growth from the previous year.

Read: Q&A w/ DigitalFoodLab Co-Founder Matthieu Vincent On EU Alt Protein Investment Trends

Lead image courtesy of Planted.