Alternative protein company NotCo announced this week it has received an investment from from Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI), a growth equity fund affiliated with Union Square Hospitality’s Danny Meyer. Financial terms of the investment have not been disclosed at this time, though the company says it has raised “more than $130 million to date” and intends to get to a $1 billion valuation by the end of 2021.
Chile-based NoCo says the investment will help it further expand in the U.S. and launch new products in the Latin America market. Currently, NotCo sells its pea protein-based milk alternative to U.S. consumers at Whole Foods stores and through online retailers Veji and Imperfect Foods. In Chile, Brazil, and Argentina, the company also has burger, mayonnaise, and ice cream alternatives.
NotCo puts special emphasis on Giuseppe, the AI platform powering the company’s products. Giuseppe sifts through huge datasets (for example, from the USDA’s National Agricultural Library), to find ingredient and processing combinations that would best mimic the elements (flavor, texture, etc.) of real meat or dairy in plant-based alternatives. The goal is to eventually find flavor and ingredient combinations that can exactly mimic a burger, slice of cheese, or glass of milk.
A handful of other companies also use AI-based methods to create meat and dairy alternatives, from Climax’s cheese to Spoonshot’s platform that identifies novel flavor combinations.
The EHI involvement will, says NotCo, expand into the U.S. foodservice market. In Latin America, the company already has existing partnerships with Papa John’s and Burger King.
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