Vorwerk Ventures, the corporate venture capital subsidiary of consumer product manufacturer Vorwerk, co-led a CHF17m ($18.3m) series A round yesterday for Planted, a Switzerland-headquartered plant-based meat developer spun out of ETH Zurich.
The round was co-led by foodtech-focused venture capital fund Blue Horizon Ventures and included luxury goods producer Gaydoul Group, ETH Zurich’s ETH Foundation, Good Seed Ventures, Joyance Partners, various angel investors and debt financing from Credit Suisse.
Founded in 2019, Planted has developed plant-based meat products that use peas, oats and sunflowers without any additives to closely emulate the taste and texture of chicken, pulled pork and kebab.
The startup will use the series A funding to drive research and development efforts and meet international demand, initially focusing on its existing presence in Austria and Germany before entering other European markets.
Lukas Böni, co-founder of Planted, said: “We will further invest in our structuring and fermentation platforms. Combining structuring technologies with the biochemical toolboxes of natural microorganisms will allow us to create ultimately new products with transformative character – all clean, natural, healthy and tasty.”
Michael Kleindl, founder and managing partner of Blue Horizon Ventures, will join the company’s board of directors in connection with the round.
Planted had previously received $7.1m in seed funding from vegetarian restaurant Hitl, ETH Foundation, Blue Horizon, Good Seed Ventures, Mica Ventures and Joyance Partners in late 2019.
Image courtesy of Planted. The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.