Planted closes CHF 70 million Series B financing round

Kemptthal, Switzerland, September 1, 2022 – The Swiss food tech start-up Planted, known for its natural biostructured meat from alternative proteins, has successfully completed its Series B financing round of 70 million Swiss francs. The round was led by L  Catterton, the largest global private equity firm in the consumer goods sector. Planted will use the funding to drive the launch of a new product line for so-called whole cuts, such as a plant-based chicken breast, as well as further international expansion and increased production capacity.

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Planted today announced the successful completion of its Series B financing round of 70 million Swiss francs, led by the world's largest private equity firm in the consumer goods sector  L Catterton. Planted, an ETH Zurich spin-off founded in July 2019, uses its novel bio-structuring approach to produce meat from alternative proteins such as peas, oats and sunflowers, focusing on the perfect bite with exclusively natural ingredients. Biostructuring combines protein structuring and fermentation.  L Catterton is supported by existing investors such as Vorwerk Ventures, Gullspång Re:food, Movendo, Be8 Ventures, ACE, ETH Zurich Foundation, Joyance, Yann Sommer and new investor Tengelmann Ventures.

For Christoph Jenny, co-founder of Planted, the rapid follow-up round to the 36 million Swiss francs they raised in 2021 reflects the company's attractiveness in the market and to investors. "We are proud to be the fastest growing alternative protein company in Europe, with a strong track record in our established but still young markets in Switzerland, Germany, Austria and France and good early development in new markets such as the UK and Italy," says Christoph Jenny. "With the additional capital, we will further accelerate our international growth, expand our product range to include a new line of whole-cut products and build another production facility."

Jenny adds: “Current technologies and solutions for plant-based meat aren’t able to replace more than one to three percent of meat consumption, and therefore don’t have the necessary impact on our food system. Consumers justify this with a lack of taste, an unattractive price, and questionable ingredients. To convince meat-eaters too, it’s crucial that we produce ‘better meat than animal meat’ – so a better taste experience and a more favorable price with lower environmental impact and good ingredients. These parameters are always our focus.“

Investors See Rapid Growth

"We are honored to partner with Planted to revolutionize the way meat and protein-rich foods are consumed worldwide," says Michael Farello, Managing Partner of the L Catterton Growth Fund. "Their products are not only inspired by nature, but also free of artificial ingredients. In addition, they are scalable and can be easily integrated into the daily lives of consumers. Because food is a powerful lever for promoting human health and ecological stability, Planted directly contributes to a healthier and more sustainable food system. We firmly believe that the company will continue to grow as more and more people around the world rely on alternative proteins in their daily lives."

Introducing Whole Cuts

Based on its biostructuring process, which combines protein structuring and biotechnology, Planted is launching its range of whole meat products. This proprietary technology enables Planted to develop larger pieces of meat with complex structure, texture, succulence and tenderness. Planted is convinced that in the future, biostructured proteins will surpass animal meat in terms of taste, sustainability, health, efficiency and price.

"We are currently in the final stages of launching various whole-cut products such as our chicken tenders, patties and chicken breast. These are the first larger cuts of meat on the No additives market. These products will be available for the food service industry first, with retail following shortly after. Our chicken breast will be launched in collaboration with Michelin-starred chef Tim Raue and will be on the menu in his restaurant in Berlin from September 15, 2022. This will be followed by further launches in the food service sector," says Jenny.

In addition, the more than 65 employees working at Planted in the areas of research, technology and product development have developed further promising prototypes. "We now have to test, optimize and scale these with consumers. The strong support from investors gives us the opportunity to accelerate the test phases and invest significant resources in scaling in order to successfully launch the new products on the market via our various sales channels in the coming months," Jenny continues.

Further international expansion and increased production capacity

planted. is available in restaurants and retail outlets in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France, Italy and recently also in the UK, as well as via its own Europe-wide webshop. The company plans to open up several new European markets in 2023.  

Planted produces all its products in the Kemptthal production facility, which is located in a glasshouse – the first transparent meat production open to the public. In May 2022, the company announced that production capacity had doubled to over one ton of plant-based meat per hour. Planted plans to open another production facility in the near future.

"We are very proud to see how our products inspire so many consumers across Europe. Unique aspects such as our natural, healthy and non-artificial ingredients, the incredible technology that ensures the fibrous texture, and the taste make all the difference. We look forward to using the current funding to further strengthen our international presence and expand our network of partners who share our passion for making a positive impact on this planet," Jenny concludes.  

Consulting companies

HoulihanLokey acted as financial advisor and Walder Wyss as legal advisor.

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More information

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