Meaty affair! Swiss food tech Planted gobbles up €70 million to create ‘meat’ from alternative proteins

As the world shifts to a more sustainable lifestyle, alternative and plant-based proteins are here to stay. The global plant-based meat market is estimated to be worth almost €8 billion and projected to reach about €15.5 billion by 2027. 

Taking a big bite of the booming sector, Swiss food tech Planted has raised over €70 million to develop clean-label bio-structured meat. The Series B funding was led by L Catterton and backed by existing investors, including Vorwerk Ventures, Gullspång Re:food, Movendo, Be8 Ventures, ACE, ETH Zürich Foundation, footballer Yann Sommer, and new investor Tengelmann Ventures. According to the company, it is one of the biggest rounds in Europe in the alt-protein sector. 

Going forward, Planted wants to launch its whole-cut product range, including faux chicken breast, further international expansion and increase production capacity. Currently, its products are available at restaurants and retailers across Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France, Italy and U.K.

Helping meat eaters make the switch, the Swiss startup is creating delicious ‘meat’ products from alternative proteins. Planted produces meat from proteins such as peas, oat, and sunflower through its bio-structuring approach.

Planted co-founder Christoph Jenny said: “Current plant-based meat technologies and solutions are not able to replace more than 1-3% of meat consumption, and therefore are not having the required impact on our food system. Consumers argue that this is due to a lack of taste, an overall unattractive price, 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.”

The company produces all its products under a glass-house production facility in Kemptthal, Switzerland. It is now planning to open an additional production facility.

Liz Gordon of L Catterton added: “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.”