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Purple Carrot Is Launching an Incubator Program for Plant-based Food Brands

by Jennifer Marston
November 25, 2019November 25, 2019Filed under:
  • Alternative Protein
  • Business of Food
  • Education & Discovery
  • Featured
  • Foodtech
  • Startups
  • The New CPG
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Got an early-stage startup developing plant-based consumer packaged goods? Purple Carrot may be able to help. The plant-based meal kit company just announced a new incubator program called The Garden Incubator that aims to invest in plant-based CPG companies and help them scale up.

Each selected participant gets $250,000 in seed round funding provided by VC firm Unovis Partners and its New Crop Capital fund. Unovis specifically invests in companies developing plant-, fungi-, and cell-based protein replacement foods, and counts AlephFarms, Beyond Meat, and Good Catch among its portfolio companies. Purple Carrot is also a member of the firm’s portfolio.

In addition to the seed funding, Purple Carrot will work with companies on improving and growing strategy, branding, financial modeling, data analytics, operations, and fulfillment areas of their businesses. 

“The plant-based space is in the midst of a powerful transformation with a range of early-stage brands that are struggling for investment dollars, product-market fit, and distribution. With The Garden our goal is to accelerate the positive trajectory of qualifying brands, improve their focus and enable rapid and improved distribution in the U.S. and beyond,” said Purple Carrot founder and CEO, Andy Levitt said in the press release tied to the announcement.

Needless to say, the major criteria for joining The Garden Incubator is a focus on plant-based food products. According to the program’s website, the program looks for “early stage plant-based CPG companies with unique and scalable products.”

Unlike startup accelerators, which usually run for a set period of time, incubator programs typically have no set start and stop date, and take applications on an ongoing basis. As of right now, no deadline is affixed to The Garden Incubator’s program. Those interested in applying can simply fill out the application.

Purple Carrot was acquired by Tokyo-based Oisix, Japan’s largest meal kit and food delivery service, in May of 2019. For now, its focus on plant-based products remains somewhat unique in the world of accelerators and incubators, though given the popularity of plant-based foods, that will change soon.


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Purple Carrot Launches Frozen Meals at Whole Foods Stores

Purple Carrot, best known for its plant-based meal kit subscription service, is getting into the retail game. The company today announced the launch of a line of frozen, single-serve meals that are now available at Whole Foods stores in the U.S. Like the rest of Purple Carrot’s offerings, the meals…

Updated: Plant-Based Meal Kit Company Purple Carrot Acquired by Japanese Grocer Oisix Last Month

UPDATE: Purple Carrot sent out a press release officially announcing the deal, though the numbers they provide are different. From that announcement: Purple Carrot, the plant-based meal kit company with operations in the U.S., today announced that it will be acquired by Tokyo-based Oisix ra daichi Inc. (Oisix), Japan's largest…

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  • Purple Carrot
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