Tender Food develops structured plant-based meat alternatives (beef short rib, pulled pork, chicken breast and crab) using a fiber-spinning process that spins soy proteins into textured cuts. Founded in 2020 and formerly known as Boston Meats, the company has shifted from R&D toward commercialization. Its products are already in restaurants, universities and 11 Clover Food Lab locations in the Boston area, and it is trialing with foodservice companies and large food manufacturers. Tender plans to scale co-manufacturing to millions of pounds of product and to continue product development. The company recently added Mike Messersmith, former North American president of Oatly, to its board to support the transition to commercial operations. Revenue was previously not a major focus but will be prioritized as the company commercializes. Tender Food develops alternative meats with authentic texture, specializing in whole-muscle cut products such as chicken breasts, pulled pork and steaks. Its technology, derived from materials and protein fiber manufacturing work in Kevin Kit Parker’s Harvard lab, enables products that look, taste and feel like real meat. The approach supports both plant-based and cultured meat applications. Launched in 2020 by Harvard engineers, the company is led by CEO Christophe Chantre, a former postdoctoral research fellow at the Wyss Institute. Based in the Greater Boston Area, Tender sits in a hub for biotech research and innovation. The company raised $12M in Seed funding to scale up production and plans to launch its first products later this year.

Total raised

$23M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Jun 2024