Swiss Vegan Food Tech Startup Planted Closes US$72 Million Series B

Ahead of its launch of a ‘whole-cut’ line of plant-based meat, Swiss-based Planted has closed an CHF 70 million (US$72 million) Series B led by the largest global consumer-focused private equity firm, L Catterton.

Swiss food tech startup Planted, known for its clean-label biostructured meat, successfully closed its series B financing round of CHF 70 million. The round follows its $18 million Series A in 2021. The new round was led by L Catterton, the largest global consumer-focused private equity firm. Existing investors including Vorwerk Ventures, Gullspång re:food, Movendo, Be8 Ventures, ACE, ETH Zürich Foundation, Joyance, Yann Sommer, also joined the round as did new investor Tengelmann Ventures.

Europe’s fastest growing alternative protein company

Planted’s co-founder, Christoph Jenny, says the investment reflects the brand’s market traction. “We are proud to be Europe’s fastest growing alternative protein company, with a strong track record, despite our nascency, in established markets like Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and France, and early traction in new markets like the UK and Italy,” Jenny said in a statement.

“With the additional capital, we will further accelerate our international growth, expand our product range with a line of whole-cut products, and build an additional production site.”

The whole cuts are intended to supplant both conventional chicken and current plant-based offerings that often compensate for lack of structure by coating in breadcrumbs and angling for the nugget or fried chicken consumer.

Michael Farello, a Managing Partner in the Growth Fund of L Catterton, praised Planted’s products for being free of unnatural ingredients and being easy to incorporate into consumers’ daily lives.

“With food as a strong lever to promote human health and environmental stability, Planted directly contributes to creating a healthier and more sustainable food system,” Farello said. “We have strong conviction in the company’s continued growth, as more people across the globe continue to adopt alternative proteins into their lives.”

Whole-cut chicken

Planted says its proprietary technology affords it the ability to create larger pieces of meat that contain complex structures and deliver a whole-cut texture, along with juiciness and tenderness. The company recently doubled production to more than one ton of vegan meat per hour.

“We are currently in the final phase of launching various whole-cut products such as our chicken tenders, chicken patties, and chicken breasts,” Jenny said. “These are the first larger cuts of meat on the market without additives.”

Jenny says that current plant-based meat technologies and solutions are not able to replace more than one to three percent of meat consumption, “and therefore are not having the required impact on our food system.” He says consumers point to lack of taste as well as high prices and questionable ingredients.

“For meat-eaters to make a switch, it is crucial that we create ‘better meat than animals’ – meaning better taste, price, lower environmental impact, good ingredients, and healthiness. It is these parameters that are always at our focus”.

According to Jenny, Planted is aiming to launch the products in food service first with retail distribution to follow. Planted will celebrate its food service launch in a collaboration with Michelin star chef Tim Raue at his Berlin restaurant later this month. Planted products are already available at restaurants and retailers across Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, and the UK.