Planted develops plant-based whole-cut meats and smaller mock-meat products by combining biostructuring (wet extrusion) and a fermentation step to create fibrous, meat-like textures from pea, oat and sunflower proteins. The company lists a short ingredient set for its vegan chicken (pea protein, pea fiber, canola oil, water, plus vitamin B12) and emphasizes no flavourings, preservatives, soy, gluten, lactose or GMOs. Founded in 2019 and based near Zurich, Planted currently sells into roughly 4,200 retailers and 3,000+ restaurants across three regional markets. It recently doubled production volume in May, which enabled some price reductions, and says pricing today sits between free-range and organic chicken depending on market. The new capital will be used to launch a whole-cut product line (including a plant-based chicken breast), expand further in Europe (targeting the Benelux after early German-speaking focus), and boost production capacity while optimizing processes to shrink the price gap with animal meat. Planted is a Swiss alternative-protein company that spun out of ETH Zurich in 2019 and builds plant-based whole-cut meat replacements using an extrusion process that forms fibrous, meat-like structures. The company has diversified its protein inputs to include oat and sunflower and has developed products such as pulled pork and kebab alternatives. Planted says it has added fermentation/biotech techniques to enhance taste and texture and to enable structure creation without form limitation. Its latest product is a single-piece, breaded schnitzel (not pressed from smaller bits) which is slated to debut in Q3. Planted currently sells exclusively in Europe and plans market entries across several new markets in Q3 and Q4; a U.S. launch is planned eventually but is dependent on COVID-19 travel restrictions. The recent financing is being used to continue growth, scale production and bring new “whole” or “prime” cuts out of the lab and into consumer testing and scaling. Planted develops and sells plant‑based meat‑replacement products, combining structuring technologies with the biochemical toolbox of natural microorganisms to create new items. Its products are sold in over 3,000 retail stores—including Coop and Migros in Switzerland, Edeka in Germany and Spar in Austria—supplies hundreds of foodservice partners, and reaches consumers via its online shop. The company plans to use the new funding to strengthen its international presence and expand its partner network. Management says it will make substantial investments in research and development to meet rising demand for sustainable foods. The founders are Christoph Jenny, Pascal Bieri, Lukas Böni and Eric Stirnemann. The company has seen strong recent growth in the DACH market and intends to build on that momentum.

Total raised

$92M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Sep 2022