Meatless Farm raises $31m for global expansion

The funding round follows a previous round of $17m (£13.3) raised by the Leeds-based company. The $31m has come from a mixture of existing and new private and family office investors. The proceeds will be used to expand the brand in existing markets, access new regions, expand the product lines, and further build out the manufacturing operations in Canada.

With the market for plant-based food estimated to grow by 17 per cent to $4.2bn (£3.3bn) in 2021, Meatless Farm has ambitious plans to expand in all its key markets and to grow its product range.

The company has four offices worldwide - Leeds, Amsterdam, New York and Singapore - and is set to continue its double digit sales growth in the years to come.

Morten Toft Bech, founder of Meatless Farm, said: “We are seeing strong demand for our plant-based burgers, sausages and mince across all markets and see fantastic opportunities to grow the Meatless Farm brand rapidly as people look to eat more healthily and sustainably post Covid-19.

“Our ambition is to continue to expand our global operations organically whilst also looking to participate in M&A (merger and acquisition) activities around the consolidation of smaller plant-based companies.”

The funding round was managed by recently appointed Meatless Farm director, Leopoldo Zambeletti, who has over 20 years investment banking experience at firms including JP Morgan and Credit Suisse.

He said: “Fundraising during the lockdown brought its own unique challenges, but the strength of the brand, the sustainable mission, the excellent management team and proven execution to date resonated well with existing and new investors alike.”