Canada: Eat Beyond adds Above Food to portfolio
Plant-based food company Above Food has raised $40 million in private placement, and has reserved the ticker symbol TSXV: ABOV. Murielle Gonzalez reports
Eat Beyond, the investment house with a portfolio of public and private companies in the alternative food sector, said it has added Above Food to its portfolio. The announcement followed on from the private placement that Above Food closed on 20 January, raising $40.2 million. The private placement was led by Gravitas Securities.
Above Food develops and distributes premium, whole plant alternatives to meat and dairy by creating consumer products and branded ingredients.
According to information on Eat Beyond’s website, Above Food has reserved the ticker symbol TSXV: ABOV, showing the ambition to enter the TSX Venture Exchange, the public venture capital marketplace for emerging companies.
Patrick Morris, chief executive of Eat Beyond, said: “We are thrilled to add Above Food to our portfolio. It is an established high-growth, and a vertically-integrated business that is focused on its proprietary seed-to-fork plant ingredients and plant protein.”
Morris explained that Above Food has established global distribution and saw revenue of $127 million in the past twelve months. “The company is growing quickly, and we are looking forward to supporting this growth as it continues to accelerate,” he added.
Above Food, which merged with Purely Foods Canada last year, uses a proprietary blend of plant proteins created from heirloom pulses and gluten-free grains. Its products to market by leveraging strategic relationships with leading co-packers, distributors, and direct-to-consumer e-commerce platforms.
The company serves more than 300 customers in 35 countries, including many leading brands with its established business-to-business plant-ingredient and plant-protein platform.
“What we’ve built is truly disruptive,” said Lionel Kambeitz, executive chairman and chief executive of Above Food Corp. “The ability to have custody of these new proteins, including lentils, chickpeas, fava, peas and oats, from seed all the way through to the end consumers dinner plates, allows us to create nutrient density and superior functional performance across our B2B, Advanced Ingredient, and B2C lines of our business.”
Above Food will also be launching its own business-to-consumer product line that includes plant-based meats, plant-based diary, plant-based baby food, and plant-based bakery, beginning in 2021.
Founded in September 2019, Eat Beyond went public on November 17, 2020. Stocks are trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol Eats.
The Very Good Food Company and the Green Space Brands are public companies in Eat Beyond’s portfolio. The company is also an equity holder in private companies Just Eat, TurtleTree Labs, Nabati Foods, SingCell, and Good Natured.
Plant-Based Foods of Canada
Eat Beyond also announced this week that it has joined Plant-Based Foods of Canada (PBFC). The organisation works to educate consumers, government and industry partners about the benefits of plant-based foods. Its goal is to modernize regulations to support innovation and growth and make plant-based eating more available to all. PBFC is a division of trade organisation Food, Health & Consumer Products of Canada.
“Foodtech innovation and research in health and nutrition are moving more quickly than at any other point in history, and it is important to us to be a part of that change,” said Morris. “Educating stakeholders about these innovations and providing hands-on support to our growing portfolio at top priorities for us. We are pleased to partner with PBFC to support their mission and become a part of their community.”
PBFC launched in 2018 and has since played a key role in shaping the development of regulatory discussion about the plant-based food industry in Canada.
The organisation makes regular presentations for government, presents thought leadership at industry events and provides analysis of emerging issues and trends.
