Meatless Farm Raises $31M As It Continues Push Into the U.S.

Plant-based meat brand Meatless Farm announced this week the close of a $31 million funding round, which the UK-based company will use to accelerate its growth into other markets, including the U.S.

The brand, which launched in 2018 and sells pea and soy protein-based burgers, grounds and sausage patties and links, also plans to continue to invest in “bold” approaches to marketing as it builds brand awareness internationally.

The funding, which follows a $17 million round raised last year, came from a mix of new and existing investors, which the brand declined to identify. Meatless Farm’s previous investors include Stray Dog Capital and Channel 4 Ventures. The company noted that the ability to close a round of this size during a global pandemic speaks to the brand’s strength in the marketplace.

“This is testament to the brand, especially given COVID-19,” Michael Hunter, Chief Growth Officer at Meatless Farm, said. “Our fundraising strategy was first to build with existing investors whilst also recruiting new ones who share the Meatless Farm ethos. This blended approach has enabled us to create a very strong platform for the next phase of growth.”

In addition to offices in Leeds, Amsterdam and Singapore, the brand has also established a U.S. headquarters in New York City, led by Kasper Vesth, the brand’s North American general manager. In the U.S., the brand aims to “aggressively” expand its retail footprint with new partners after launching nationwide in Whole Foods in August 2019. These plans come after a significant sales boost earlier this year: according to Hunter, its U.S. retail sales increased 200% between April and May. In June, the brand also launched direct-to-consumer site The Farm Shop in the U.S. in order to “meet consumer needs in a new, more convenient way” amid the pandemic. At the time, the brand claimed it was the first plant-based meat alternative that allowed consumers to purchase directly from a company.

The brand is also building out its operations in Canada, where it launched in retail last year, with a goal to “shorten the journey from seed to shelf and align even closer to our aim of creating a more sustainable food system.” It hopes to also expand into foodservice channels there, Hunter said.

As the brand builds brand awareness in the U.S., it will also invest in marketing to stand out in the increasingly crowded plant-based meat category. While some other plant-based brands have focused on health or sustainability as reasons why consumers should make the switch away from animal-based products, Meatless Farm’s recent campaign focused on taste. Earlier this year, the brand made headlines in the UK with its bold “M…F… Campaign,” featuring taglines such as “Now that’s a M…F… burger” which highlighted the “more meaty taste” of its newly formulated burgers and sausages.

“We felt the nation [UK] needed a bit of a lift as it’s been a tough time for everyone, so more than ever we wanted to create something light-hearted and fun that consumers would remember when looking for alternatives to meat,” Hunter said.

Following that campaign, Meatless Farm is currently working on a “robust marketing strategy” for the U.S., utilizing influencer marketing and digital and print campaigns. The brand will tailor creative and media content specifically to the U.S. consumer, Hunter said, though its campaigns will “remain bold and unforgiving.”

Meatless Farm will also expand its portfolio with a “very strong innovation pipeline” focused on products that U.S. consumers have shown demand for, Hunter said, tapping into categories that have been somewhat overlooked by other plant-based brands.

In 2021, he said the brand will expand into proteins beyond plant-based beef and sausage, and also into the ethnic and appetizer spaces. While it aims to grow its global operations “organically,” Meatless Farms is also “looking to participate in M&A activities around the consolidation of smaller plant-based companies,” founder Morten Toft Bech said in a press release.

“Our organic growth is very strong, and the Meatless Farm brand has built up a potent loyalty with consumers, retailers and foodservice customers,” Hunter said. “However, as the category is evolving very quickly, this could mean more M&A’s and collaboration across the category in 2021 — we are always taking the pulse on potential growth opportunities.”