Singapore's Next Gen Foods raises $100m Series A

Local investors Alpha JWC Ventures, EDBI, and K3 Ventures, also participated, as did Chinese food tech specialist Bits x Bites, and MPL Ventures, a UK-based vehicle owned by Paul McCartney. It is described as the largest Series A ever raised by a plant-based meat company and comes less than a year after a USD 30m seed round.

Next Gen Foods was founded in 2020 by Brazilian-born poultry exporter and food industry veteran Andre Menezes, and German native Timo Recker, whose family business made schnitzel and other meat products for three generations.

Tindle, the company’s first brand, is marketed as a juicy chicken alternative that offers the same taste, texture, and versatility. In the past year, distribution has grown from a smattering of restaurants in Singapore to 200 restaurants across Singapore, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, and Dubai.

The fresh capital will support an initial entry into the US, where the company has taken a “chef-first” approach, introducing Tindle in trendy restaurants in select cities. Service to all 50 states is now being launched in partnership with DOT Foods, the country’s largest food distributor.

There are also plans to hire additional protein scientists and food technologists to pursue R&D in product innovation at a new research hub in Singapore. The facility, developed in partnership with Temasek’s Food Tech Innovation Center, will act as a launchpad for the trialling of new technologies, applications and products.

The name Tindle is a reference to 19th-century Irish physicist John Tyndall – who proved the connection between atmospheric CO2 and the greenhouse effect – and much of the brand offering is based on its environmental credentials.

Next Gen notes that, on average, chicken made from plants uses less land, less water, and produces less carbon dioxide than chicken from birds. It points to industry research that found vegetarian chicken requires 82% less water, 74% less land, and creates 88% less greenhouse gas emissions.

“Next Gen Foods’ growth in less than a year has been remarkable, as is their ongoing commitment to being part of the solution for how global food production will play a significant role in addressing the impact of climate change,” Jenny Lee, a managing partner at GGV, said in a statement.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Early-stage
• Consumer
• Cleantech
• Singapore
• GGV Capital
• Temasek Holdings
• Alpha JWC Ventures
• EDBI
• K3 Ventures
• Food