Switzerland: Planted closes 70m Swiss francs Series B round

  • 1 September 2022
  • Funding
Funding is led by L Catterton, a private equity firm in the consumer goods sector

Swiss foodtech start-up Planted has closed a Series B financing round of 70 million Swiss francs led by L Catterton, a private equity firm in the consumer goods sector, supported by existing investors including Vorwerk Ventures, Gullspång Re:food, Movendo, Be8 Ventures, ACE, ETH Zurich Foundation, Joyance, Yann Sommer and new investor Tengelmann Ventures.

Planted stated it will use the funding to launch a new line of products for so-called Whole Cuts, such as a plant-based chicken breast, as well as further international expansion and increased production capacity.

‍Founded in July 2019, the ETH Zurich spin-off uses its novel biostructuring approach to produce meat from alternative proteins such as peas, oats and sunflower. Biostructuring combines protein structuring and fermentation.

Last year Planted raised 36 million Swiss francs.

Christoph Jenny, co-founder of Planted, said: “We are proud to be the fastest growing alternative protein company in Europe, with a strong track record in our established yet young markets in Switzerland, Germany, Austria and France and good early development in new markets such as the UK and Italy. With the additional capital, we will further accelerate our international growth, expand our product range with a newline of Whole Cut products and build another production facility.

“Current plant-based meat technologies and solutions are not capable of replacing more than one to three percent of meat consumption and therefore do not have the necessary impact on our food system. Consumers justify this with a lack of taste, an unattractive price and questionable ingredients. In order to convince meat eaters as well, it is crucial that we produce ‘better meat than animal meat’ – that is, offer a better taste experience and a lower price with less environmental impact and good ingredients. We always focus on these parameters.”

Michael Farello, managing partner of L Catterton Growth Fund, added: “We are honoured to partner with Planted to revolutionize the way meat and protein-rich foods are consumed around the world. Their products are not only inspired by nature, but also free of artificial ingredients. Moreover, they are scalable and can be easily integrated into consumers’ daily lives. As food is a powerful lever to promote human health and ecological stability, Planted directly contributes to a healthier and more sustainable food system. We firmly believe the company will continue to grow as more and more people around the world turn to alternative proteins in their daily lives.”

Houlihan Lokey acted as financial advisor and Walder Wyss as legal advisor.