Temasek, Horizon lead $300m round for Impossible Foods

It follows a $114 million round last year led by Temasek and China’s Sailing Capital and brings total funds raised to date to around $750 million. The latest round also attracted participation from a number of celebrities including Serena Williams, Katy Perry, and Jay-Z.

The deal extends a raft of food technology investments in the growing category of vegetarian meat substitutes, including a $240 million IPO earlier this month by Kleiner Perkins-backed Beyond Meat, one of the company’s closest competitors.

“We believe in self-reliance. Being ready to go public is a priority for the company because we need to be operating at the highest level of rigor,” David Lee, Impossible Foods’ CFO, told Reuters. “But we are not in a rush, nor are we announcing an IPO filing.”

Founded in 2011, Impossible Foods specializes in engineering products with similar characteristics to meat. The process includes the extraction of a chemical known as heme from plant protein to imitate the flavor, aroma, and bloody juices of meat. Deodorized coconut oil is also used to reproduce the caramelizing effect that colors seared meats.

The company positions itself as an environmentally focused business. Its flagship product, Impossible Burger, is said to use about 75% less water and require 95% less land than conventional beef burgers. Asia has been a major part of the growth plan, including an early marketing campaign in Hong Kong, with the company describing the broader region as representing about a third of global demand for meat and having the fastest-growing consumption rates.

“We wanted the centers of cultural influence and Hong Kong is a prime example of that,” Nick Halla, senior vice president international at Impossible Foods, told AVCJ in December. “You have Western and Eastern cuisines and cultures coming together, great chefs and restaurants. When we launched in Hong Kong, we worked with two of the top chefs – May Chow of Little Bao and Happy Paradise and Uwe Opocensky of Beef & Liberty – and most of the top hotels as well.”

Alternative food products have rapidly accelerated as an investment theme in the past year. Other recent activity in this space include a $7 million round for Sunfed Meats, a specialist in vegetarian meat substitutes, and a $33 million round for Sustainable Bioproducts, which will use part of the money for an Asian expansion. Earlier this year, VisVires New Protein, a Singapore VC dedicated to food tech, led a $5 million round for locally based start-up called Nutrition Innovation.

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• Topics
• North America
• Consumer
• Cleantech
• Expansion
• Asia
• USA
• Temasek Holdings