The Better Meat Co. is a Sacramento, Calif.-based maker of plant-based meats that uses fermentation to produce Rhiza mycoprotein ingredients. Rhiza mycoprotein is described as an all-natural, whole-food, complete protein and clean-label ingredient that is shelf-stable, free from common allergens, neutral in taste and color, and delivers a meat-like texture. According to the company, adding Rhiza to meat improves nutrition and mouthfeel while reducing saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories. The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and develop new products. Its leadership team includes CEO Paul Shapiro, CFO Nikhil Prashar, EVP of Tech Moran Farhi, and VP of Ops Andrea Choe. The company has raised a total of $43M to date. The Better Meat Co. is a Sacramento-based food tech company that supplies a mycoprotein ingredient called Rhiza to food manufacturers. It transforms microscopic fungi via fermentation into Rhiza and operates as a business-to-business ingredients supplier. The company produces Rhiza at a Sacramento pilot plant that uses a 9,000-liter fermentation system and has completed 100 harvests. The Better Meat Co. reports seed-to-harvest production in just a few hours and significant cost reductions, claiming cost parity with commodity beef. The company recently received a “no questions” letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recognizing Rhiza as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS). It plans to use new funding to scale Rhiza production further. Better Meat Co, based in Sacramento, makes white-label plant-based formulations designed to be blended with animal meat to create hybrid products for beef, chicken, crab, fish, pork, and turkey. Its 'meat enhancers' are allergen-free and positioned as cost-competitive with similar animal-derived ingredients. The company sells B2B to food manufacturers seeking to boost sustainability, nutrition credentials, and cost effectiveness of animal-derived products. Customers include Perdue Farms, which used Better Meat Co's formulations in its Perdue Chicken Plus range of nuggets, patties, and tenders. Better Meat Co emphasizes partnership with major meat companies to drive environmental and public health impact. Financially, the startup has raised $8.1 million in a seed round and previously raised $1.6 million in pre-seed financing, bringing total capital raised to just shy of $10 million. Better Meat Co creates proprietary plant-based ingredient blends formulated to mix invisibly into meat products; its first product, Albina 100, combines wheat protein, mushroom, pea fiber and umami extracts. Albina 100 is shelf-stable, described as looking like a packet of croutons, and is specifically formulated for ground pork applications such as sausages, meatballs, chorizo, and dumplings, with future formulations planned for beef, chicken and other meats. The company says a 30% blend of Albina 100 into ground pork maintains similar protein while reducing saturated fat and cholesterol by about 30% each and calories by about 12%. Better Meat Co reports that roughly 80% of consumers in blind taste tests preferred meatballs made with 30% plants. The team emphasizes trade secrets and processes including extrusion as their IP approach rather than patents. The company is targeting foodservice initially while remaining open to CPG partners and aims to be cost-competitive with the meat it replaces.

Total raised

$41M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Aug 2025