In a game-changing move for the alternative protein market, Meati Foods has secured over $100 million in funding through a C-1 financing round spearheaded by Grosvenor Food & AgTech. Concurrently, the company has unveiled its mycelium-based steaks and cutlets in 2,000 Kroger stores nationwide, significantly bolstering its retail footprint to 6,000 locations across the United States.
This substantial funding round, which elevates Meati’s total financing to an impressive $365 million, saw the enthusiastic participation of returning investors including Prelude Ventures, BOND, Revolution Growth, and Congruent. As part of this transition, Dr. Tyler Huggins, co-founder and chief innovation officer, is stepping into an advisory role, paving the way for Phil Graves to assume the CEO position. Graves, with his extensive leadership experience at Wild Idea Buffalo Company, brings a wealth of strategic insight to propel Meati towards sustainable growth and operational excellence.
Under Graves’ stewardship, Meati Foods is poised to optimize its workforce and expedite its journey to profitability, following a strategic realignment that involved a series of workforce adjustments over the past year. Despite the broader downturn in the meat alternatives category, Meati has demonstrated robust performance at retail, capturing significant market share with up to 40% of sales attributed to first-time consumers of plant-based proteins.
With products now available in 6,000 retail outlets nationwide, including prominent chains such as Kroger, Whole Foods Market, Meijer, Sprouts, and Wegmans, Meati is on track to expand its presence to 10,000 locations by the year’s end. At the heart of Meati’s innovative approach lies its mycelium-based submerged biomass fermentation platform, developed by engineers Dr. Justin Whiteley and Dr. Tyler Huggins in 2015. This groundbreaking technology enables the production of whole cuts of alternative meat from mycelium, tapping into the vast potential of fungi as a sustainable protein source.
As Meati embarks on its next phase of growth, including the commencement of production at its state-of-the-art facility in Thornton, Colorado—dubbed the “Mega Ranch”—the company is poised to revolutionize the alternative protein landscape with its fungi-fueled vision.
[Image credits: Meati Foods]