C2 invests $25m in Eat Just to support China expansion

C2 was founded in 2018 by Steven Lin, an investment banker who then served as North Asia CEO of Laureate International Universities, and it counts Alibaba Group as an anchor investor. The firm provides growth capital and operational support to foreign brands that want to scale in China. This is its first alternative protein deal, following forays into personal care, pet food, and infant formula.

Eat Just is currently engaged in an Asia-wide rollout, having formed a 50-50 regional joint venture with food and agriculture investor Proterra Investment Partners in late 2020. Proterra committed USD 100m to build a factory in Singapore and establish local supply chains. C2 will help the company with go-to-market strategies, sales, branding, hiring, and regulator engagement in China.

Eat Just was established in 2011 as Hampton Creek Foods with the US as its key target market. The company struggled to penetrate Asia, despite egg consumption per capital being higher in markets like China than in the West and its key ingredient – mung beans – mainly originating from Asia.

Protein extracted from the beans is converted into powder and then sold in liquid form by the carton and as slices that can be heated using a toaster or skillet. Just Egg is most often used as a replacement for traditional eggs in scrambled egg and folded egg dishes as well as omelettes.

Eat Just has broadened its portfolio to include meat made through cell cultivation, and that product is now sold in Singapore. The C2 investment follows the inclusion of plant-based eggs and cultivated meat in China’s national blueprint for food security. The country is responsible for 30% of global egg production and 30% of worldwide meat consumption.

Just Egg has been available through China-based e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba’s Tmall since 2019. It has gained traction with street vendors in Shanghai who now sell plant-based versions of jianbing, a crêpe-like Chinese breakfast dish, and at the city’s weekend markets. In 2020, Eat Just opened China’s first plant-based culinary studio, which trains chefs from top local restaurants.

“We are excited to support alternative protein pioneer Eat Just’s mission and to accelerate the growth of their innovative products and technologies in China by leveraging the unique insights and resources of the C2-Alibaba ecosystem,” Lin said in a statement.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Expansion
• Consumer
• China
• Asia
• Alibaba Group
• Food
• C2 Capital Partners
• Proterra Investment Partners