Swiss foodtech startup Planted raises €71.4M to bring ‘delicious’ meat alternatives to the table

Switzerland-based Planted, a company that specialises in plant-based meals, announced on Thursday that it has raised CHF 70M (approximately €71.41M) in a Series B round of funding.

The round was led by L Catterton, the largest global private equity firm in the consumer goods sector. Existing investors Vorwerk Ventures, Gullspång Re:food, Movendo, Be8 Ventures, ACE, ETH Zurich Foundation, Joyance, and Yann Sommer, and new investor Tengelmann Ventures also participated in the round.

Funds to expand and increase production capacity

Planted says it will use the proceeds to launch a new line of products for so-called Whole Cuts, such as a plant-based chicken breast, as well as further expand internationally and increase production capacity.‍

Planted is available in restaurants and retail outlets in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France, Italy and, more recently, the UK, as well as via the company’s own pan-European web store. The company plans to enter several new European markets in 2023. 

Christoph Jenny, co-founder of Planted, says, “It makes us very proud to see our products delighting so many consumers across Europe. Unique aspects such as our natural healthy and non-artificial ingredients, the incredible technology that provides the fibrous texture, and the taste make all the difference. We look forward to using the current funding to further strengthen our international presence and expand our network of partners who share our passion for making a positive impact on this planet.”

Bringing meat alternatives to your table

Founded in July 2019 by Christoph Jenny, Eric Stirnemann, Lukas Böni, and Pascal Bieri, the ETH Zurich spin-off Planted uses its novel bio-structuring approach to produce meat from alternative proteins such as peas, oats and sunflower. Biostructuring combines protein structuring and fermentation.

Christoph Jenny says, “Current plant-based meat technologies and solutions are not capable of replacing more than 1-3 per cent of meat consumption and therefore do not have the necessary impact on our food system. Consumers justify this with a lack of taste, an unattractive price and questionable ingredients. In order to convince meat eaters as well, it is crucial that we produce ‘better meat than animal meat’ – that is, offer a better taste experience and a lower price with less environmental impact and good ingredients. We always focus on these parameters.”

Planted manufactures all its products in their Kemptthal production facility, which is located in a glass house – the first transparent production of meat open to the public. 

In May 2022, the company announced that the production capacity has been doubled to over one ton of plant meat per hour. And in the near future, Planted plans to open another production facility.

Introduction of Whole Cuts

The Swiss company reports that it is introducing its whole line of meat products, supported by its bio-structuring technique, which blends protein structuring and biotechnology. Planted is now able to create bigger pieces of meat with complex structure, texture, juiciness, and softness. 

According to Planted, bio-structured proteins will eventually exceed meat in terms of flavour, sustainability, health, efficiency, and cost.

Christoph Jenny says, “We are currently in the final stages of launching several Whole Cut products such as our chicken tenders, patties and chicken breast. These are the first larger cuts of meat on the market without additives. These products will be available to the food service industry first, with retail to follow shortly thereafter. For example, our chicken breast will be launched in collaboration with celebrity chef Tim Raue and will be on the menu at his restaurant in Berlin from September 15, 2022. This will be followed by further launches in the food service sector.”

“We now need to test, optimise and scale these with consumers. The strong support from investors gives us the opportunity to accelerate the testing phases and put significant resources into scaling to successfully bring the new products to market through our various distribution channels in the coming months,” adds Jenny.