Prime Roots Raises $30M To Put Koji Meat In The Deli Case

Prime Roots is one step closer to bringing its sliced-to-order koji-based meats to deli cases and restaurants across the country with today’s announcement of a $30 million in new funding to scale the business for national distribution.

The round, which brings the company’s total funding to-date to almost $49 million saw participation from over a dozen VC firms including True Ventures, Pangaea Ventures, Prosus Ventures, Top Tier Capital, Diamond Edge Ventures, SOSV/IndieBio and Solasta Ventures, among others.

Prime Roots currently “covers over 75% of the deli meat offerings in the market” with numerous varieties of its koji-based turkey, ham and salami. The San Francisco-based company also makes a range of charcuterie products spanning Black Truffle Koji Pate to Pizzeria Style Koji Pepperoni as well as koji-based bacon. The products do not contain any nitrates, preservatives, cholesterol, soy or wheat and are also “lower in sodium than the leading brand,” the brand stated in a press release.

“People are asking for sustainable meat options that taste good, make them feel good and do good with less planet impact. Prime Roots delivers on all three: taste, nutrition, and sustainability,” said Kimberlie Le, founder and CEO of Prime Roots, in a press release. “This new funding is a testament to the market opportunity for the next generation of plant-based meats that meet consumer expectations while forging into old world categories like deli with disruptive innovation.”

According to Prime Roots, its hero koji ingredient creates nutritionally comparable deli meats that also use significantly less emissions and land. Koji is a common ingredient in traditional Asian dishes and is found in fungus roots, known as mycelium. Plant-based brand Meati, which produces whole cut meat analogs, also uses mycelium as its base ingredient.

The deli line does clock in at a higher price point than its animal-based counterpoints. For example, Bay Area grocery chain Berkley Bowl lists Prime Root’s deli meats at roughly $17.50 to $19.50 per pound, about $1 to $2 per pound higher than its sliced-to-order turkey and ham options.

While the wider plant-based meat set is fairly crowded, Prime Roots is in a niche occupied by only a handful of companies. Category incumbents Tofurky, Nestlé-owned Sweet Earth and Maple Leaf Food’s LightLife all sell a variety of alt-meat deli slices, though the products come individually packed and are often merchandised alongside plant-based cheeses and other alternatives.

Offering both pre-packed and bulk deli case-ready versions of its wheat protein-based slices, Mrs. Goldfarb’s Unreal Deli is on a similar mission as Prime Roots with ambitions of a nationwide footprint. The brand has secured space at over 2,000 retail doors including select Costco regions, with its 3-SKU lineup. Although there are many small, locally produced products on the market, the category currently lacks a premium, nationally available product.

Prime Roots launched with its first retail partner last November and is now available at almost 50 delis and grocery stores in the Bay Area. It is also available at vegan, New York City deli Plantega and in the dining halls at Elon University in North Carolina. The brand said retail partners report that the products consistently sell out before the lunch rush and sales are “5-10x higher than other plant-based alternatives. ”