US: The Rise Fund leads $335m funding round for Livekindly Collective

  • 29 March 2021
  • Investor
Impact investment fund makes its second major investment in the global plant-based ecosystem
LIVEKINDLY Collective Has Raised Over Half a Billion Dollars to Make Plant-Based Meat Global
From left: Kees Kruythoff, Debbie Fry, Wally Fry, Jodi Monelle, and Roger Lienhard. Photo as seen on Livekindly Collective’s website

The Rise Fund has led a $335 million funding round for Livekindly, the plant-based collective of plant-based food companies. Rabo Corporate Investments, S2G Ventures, existing and additional mission-aligned investors joined the round.

Steve Ellis, co-managing partner of The Rise Fund, has joined the Livekindly collective board of directors, effective March 1, 2021.

Based in San Francisco, The Rise Fund was established in 2016 committed to achieving social and environmental impact alongside financial returns. The fund seeks to invest in creative entrepreneurs across education, energy, food and agriculture, financial services healthcare, information and communication technology, and industrials and infrastructure.

The investment in Livekindly is the second major investment in the global food ecosystem. The Rise Fund led the $70 million Series A funding round for Green Monday, a manufacturer of plant-based pork products and frozen meals based in Hong Kong.

The Livekindly collective is a portfolio company of sustainable food investment firm Blue Horizon Ventures – its founder and partner, Roger Lienhard, establish the collective in 2019. Brands in the Livekindly collective include The Fry Family Food, Like Meat, and Livekindly media.

For Blue Horizon, Livekindly is now one of the top three highest-funded and fastest-growing plant-based food companies.

“Our mission is to make plant-based living the new norm, creating a healthier, more sustainable global food system through our international portfolio that meets local tastes,” said David Knopf, chief financial officer of Livekindly Collective. “With the close of this funding round, we are ideally positioned to rapidly scale our model and lead the global consumer shift toward healthy, delicious and sustainable plant-based alternatives.”

The funding will be used to accelerate Livekindly’s expansion into growth geographies, including the US and China. The cash injection will also fuel its acquisitions, key partnerships and investments in plant-based innovation.