Actual Veggies Closes $7 Million Series A, Gears Up for Costco Launch

Amidst accelerated growth, chef-crafted veggie burger brand Actual Veggies is making new hires and ramping up marketing efforts with the support of a $7 million investment round led by Relentless Consumer Partners, announced today.

“We’re growing both the marketing and sales teams, but with the same ethos of being small and scrappy and having only folks that are doers on the team,” said Jason Rosenbaum, co-founder and co-CEO of Actual Veggies.

The brand’s eight-employee team is expected to grow to 11 or 12 by year’s end. Regarding marketing, Actual Veggies will focus on in-store demos and promos to expand its consumer base, per Rosenbaum. The round also gives the brand some extra cash “just in case.”

Other participants in the round included Elly Truesdell’s New Fare Partners, Sovos Brands founder Todd Lachman and Tom Brady’s business manager Ben Rawitz. As part of the round, Truesdell and Scott Caras, president at Relentless, will join Actual Veggies’ board of directors alongside CPG veteran Jamie Borteck.

“[These individuals] have seen the same model over and over again and seen what’s worked and what hasn’t. That’s really valuable; it’s important to have people who’ve been successful multiple times,” said Actual Veggies co-founder and co-CEO Hailey Swartz.

The new capital infusion comes on the heels of a seven-figure round closed in May, which supported a slew of new retail partnerships. Within the past six months, Actual Veggies has more than doubled its nationwide store count, growing from 3,000 to over 7,000, with major retailers including Albertsons, Kroger, Whole Foods Market and Sprouts Farmers Market.

It has also expanded its partnerships with Whole Foods and Sprouts by launching a line of dairy cheese-infused veggie burgers, including the Chipotle Cheddar Burger and the Mushroom Mozzarella Burger. Actual Veggies opted for dairy cheese rather than plant-based cheese because “sourcing a dairy-free cheese without oils was difficult,” and it expands the brand’s reach to vegetarians, said Rosenbaum.

Looking ahead, the brand’s flagship Black Bean Burger is slated to launch in 82 Costco locations across the Southeast region in March for $9.99 per 10-pack. The product is the top-selling veggie burger across all channels (natural, conventional, MULO), per SPINS and Circana data cited by Actual Veggies.

The brand has also expanded the reach of its Super Fries line, which debuted last March ahead of Expo West. Available in three varieties – Classic Potato, Purple Sweet Potato and Sweet Potato – the high-protein offering is packed with added vegetables and is now available in more than 800 retail locations.

“Like a lot of natural brands, we launch most of our innovation in [the] natural [channel], but one thing that’s been rewarding to see is how well conventional buyers have also adopted our products,” said Swartz, noting that Actual Veggies has achieved 125% year-over-year revenue growth.

Relentless Consumer Partners participated in the brand’s convertible note last spring with the intent of leading the $7 million round. Both Relentless and New Fare Partners had “always intended to put in more capital,” but Actual Veggies hadn’t needed it at the time, Rosenbaum told Nosh.

According to John Burns, CEO of Relentless, he was drawn to the brand for its transparency and authenticity.

“We didn’t do anything in the plant-based space for some time because I never felt the opportunity was with imitation plant foods. What I found so compelling about Actual Veggies is its name closely matches the ingredient and product profiles,” said Burns.

He continued, “The brand is powerful and has a large umbrella to build on longer term in the food space.”

Considering the rise and subsequent fall of “second-generation” plant-based meat brands like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, it’s clear consumers are seeking clean, high-protein products crafted with real plants rather than direct analogs made with artificial ingredients.

“The name ‘Actual Veggies’ really tells a story. We’re seeing a backlash against fake ingredients and a lack of transparency. Both foodservice [outlets] and retailers want to show that they believe in whole, real ingredients,” said Swartz.

Beyond retail, Actual Veggies is building up its presence in the foodservice sector after inking a deal with Compass Group to serve its products in schools, hospitals, and corporate offices like Google, Amazon and ESPN. Additionally, Compass Group took out a “really well-known legacy brand” from its college and university partners and replaced it with Actual Veggies.

In recent years, foodservice has emerged as an essential channel for plant-based brands to test new products and drive awareness to boost consumer adoption. A 2022 report by the Good Food Institute (GFI) found that plant-based meat buyers made approximately 30 more trips to foodservice locations than the average consumer.

“[The foodservice partnerships] are a validation of what we’re doing,” said Swartz. “We’re working with chefs and we wanted to bring a restaurant-style veggie burger to the grocery store, and now we’re putting it in front of chefs and they want to use it on their menus.”