Mitsubishi UFJ invests Japan vegetarian meat player

Okasan Capital Partners, which focuses on pre-IPO companies, and strategic investors A-Five, Kajitsudo, and Nichirei Foods also contributed. Mitsubishi UFJ participated via its seventh fund, which was set up last year with JPY15 billion.

Daiz manufactures foodstuffs derived from germinated soybeans using a patented technology developed in partnership with a number of local universities. When water is added to these products, they achieve the elasticity and texture of as chicken, beef, and pork. QB Capital, a VC that targets university-connected technologies, was an early investor. 

According to a release, the company wants to triple its current production to 3,000 tons per year and leverage a commercialization agreement with Nichirei Foods, a large domestic frozen foods player. The fresh capital will also support R&D around improving flavor and expansion of the science team from five researchers to eight by the end of the year. 

This plan includes establishing Japan's largest alternative protein factory by 2021. Daiz also intends to raise a Series B later this year and then list on Tokyo Stock Exchange. 

Much of the opportunity in alternative proteins is associated with back-end technology supply chains rather than customer-facing brands. Asia Pacific is expected to play a significant role in this end of the industry globally. Recent activity in this vein includes a $35 million round for Australian vegetarian meat supplier V2Food and an early-stage round for Singapore's TurtleTree Labs, which claims to have created the first-ever cell-based milk. 

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Consumer
• Technology
• Early-stage
• Japan
• Mitsubishi UFJ Capital