ImpactAlpha, April 29 – The COVID crisis is not slowing demand or dealmaking for plant-based proteins. If anything, it may be accelerating it. While the U.S. government is forcing meat producers and slaughterhouses hit by COVID to continue operating, sales of plant-based meat alternatives have surged as much as 200% in recent weeks.
Israel-based InnovoPro, which derives protein from chickpeas, has raised a $15 million Series B funding round. The round was led by Jerusalem Venture Partners, along with Custos Privatstiftung, Wolfgang Leitner, CEO of Austria’ Andritz, and early-stage food tech investor CPT Capital.
Plantible Foods snagged $4.6 million to extract proteins derived from duckweed, an fast-growing aquatic plant said to be 100 times more protein-efficient than soybeans. Hong Kong-based Vectr Ventures and New York-based Lerer Hippeau led the Series A round. Also participating: eighteen94 Capital, the food giant Kellogg ’s venture arm; and FTW Ventures.
In late 2018, San Diego-based Plantible raised an undisclosed seed round funding from Unshackled Ventures, an early stage fund for immigrant-founded startups.
