Israel–based start-up Meala FoodTech announced today it has secured $1.9m in pre-seed funding from investors. The company, which is focused on developing functional proteins from what it says will be clean and recognizable ingredients, received funding from The Kitchen FoodTech Hub (part of the Strauss-Group), and DSM Venturing, the corporate venture arm of Royal DSM. The funding will be used to continue developing Meala’s functional protein platform and move it from lab to pilot scale.
The company’s focus is on developing functional proteins that can achieve the taste and mouthfeel of real meat but do so without a long and exotic-looking ingredient list. While the company doesn’t name names, it’s clearly contrasting the proteins developed with its cleaner-label ingredient platform with those used by companies such as Impossible and Beyond. But unlike those companies, Meala’s focus is B2B, where it will provide functional proteins for other CPG brands creating plant-based meats. In short, it’s hoping to be something akin to a clean-label version of Motif Foodworks.
“There is a significant need in the plant-based industry to effectively reduce undesirable ingredients and clean up labels,” said Hadar Razmovich, CEO and Meala co-founder. “This investment will help us get closer and faster to the market, better address the companies’ specific needs and provide affordable, smarter solutions.”
According to the company, its multi-functional proteins will improve the texture of meat alternatives and make them more realistic while also creating a “more full-bodied flavor” with what it describes as a short list of “home kitchen” ingredients. The company says its proteins will be designed to be used as “binding and gelling agents” with “superior water retention capabilities.” The start-up’s technology can be used to develop functional proteins for a variety of alternative meats, including burgers, sausages, nuggets with egg and fish.
The company plans to use the funding to further develop its platform technology and take it from lab to pilot scale and says it intends to have its products in the US and Europe by 2024.
The company’s positioning definitely feels of the moment, coming at a time when the plant-based industry is doing a bit of soul-searching regarding its approach of the last few years. That said, there’s not a whole lot of detail in the Meala announcement about what exactly its “home kitchen” ingredients will be, and without having tasted meats developed using its ingredients, it’s impossible to know just yet if they will achieve their intended goal. But if they can deliver on their promise to have the best of both worlds – a simple ingredient list and proteins that deliver realistic meat-like flavor – it’s not hard to imagine CPG brands lining up at their door.
