Reportedly the biggest ever Series B fund raised by a plant-based food company in Europe, Allplants will use the latest investment to increase its plant-based kitchen in Walthamstow, North London, to six times its current size, in an effort to meet demand from the direct-to-consumer UK market. Series B investment is particularly aimed at start-ups that have become established and are past their initial development phase.
The firm also planned recruitment across the business, from additional culinary-school-trained chefs through to operations, innovation, marketing, and technology.
It will also build scalable capacity for rapid distribution into other channels, as well as fuel future innovations and developing a broader range of product categories.
Demand exploded
Jonathan Petrides, founder and chief executive of Allplants, said: "In the five years that we have been cooking, we’ve seen the demand for plant-based food explode. We’ve got a tonne of exciting plans to bring the movement to even more people’s kitchens, and this investment will allow us to do just that.
“We can now imagine, create and serve up many more delicious recipes and products, to ultimately accelerate the transformative impact that plant-based living will have on the future of our planet.”
Allplants’ plant-based meals are hand-made 24 hours a day by 140 chefs in the company’s own kitchen – Europe’s biggest plant-based kitchen running on 100% renewable energy – and delivered across the entirety of Great Britain.
Since 2017, more than 3.5m Allplants meals have been eaten, according to the company. The business has doubled revenue every year since launch.
‘Fastest growing areas in food consumption’
Draper Esprit partner Nicola McClafferty added: “Allplants is uniquely positioned at the intersection of some of the fastest growing areas in food consumption today – high quality, plant-based meals that deliver on taste, sustainability and nutrition in an incredibly convenient way for consumers.
“Allplants has real potential to scale its direct-to-consumer business while expanding into new channels both in the UK and beyond. We believe it can be a global brand, bringing nutrition, taste and convenience to the plant-curious consumer and we are delighted to be supporting the team as they grow and thrive.”
Other new investors in the round include purpose driven CPG fund The Craftory, Silicon Valley-based TriplePoint Capital, international England footballers Chris Smalling and Kieran Gibbs and Cassandra Stavrou MBE, who founded the UK’s leading independent snack company PROPER Snacks.
Meanwhile, packaged nuts and spices supplier Snack Fresh has secured a £50,000 Recovery Loan from HSBC UK to support the creation of new jobs and boost sustainability.
