No Meat Factory, a leading plant-based alternative protein manufacturer, announced today that it has closed a Series B funding round, raising $42 million USD. The funding round was led by new investor Tengelmann Growth Partners, with participation from existing investor Emil Capital Partners (ECP). The company plans to use the funding to expand its production footprint in North America and build out its manufacturing capabilities to service the global market, increasing access to affordable alternative proteins for mainstream consumers.
No Meat Factory will use its new BRC-certified facilities in British Columbia to produce plant-based alternative protein products for its brand partners. Products will include meat alternatives for convenience products like nuggets and hamburgers and whole-muscle alternatives. Its second production facility, which will begin operations in early 2023, will increase production capacity and provide additional manufacturing capabilities for plant-based deli and sausage alternatives.
“The traction No Meat Factory has experienced in just a few short years is evidence that consumers want greater access to plant-based alternative proteins and brands are looking for ways to deliver quality at an affordable price,” said Dieter Thiem, CEO and cofounder of No Meat Factory. “With this latest funding round, we are excited to not only expand our operations to meet the needs of our partners, but to take advantage of the support and expertise of our investors as we expand our footprint globally.”
No Meat Factory will also continue to make significant investments in its global research and development organization that focuses on commercializing the latest innovations in alternative protein.
“No Meat Factory has an exceptional founding team with decades of experience in the plant-based industry, and we are thrilled to come on board to support the company’s next phase of growth,” said Patrick Schaich, Investment Partner at Tengelmann Growth Partners.
The funding is notable because it comes at a time when the plant-based meat industry has been struggling and has seen overall VC capital going into the space decline significantly. One factor in No Meat’s Factory’s favor may be its cofounder team, which includes Dieter Thiem, who was the former president of plant-based meat manufacturing company Flora Protein (which sold to Garden Protein) and COO Leon Bell, who was previously with ADM, where he helped launch the company’s plant-based meat solutions.
