The Better Meat Co. Closes $8 Million Seed Round

For immediate release: July 28, 2020

The Better Meat Co., a Sacramento-based sustainable food tech start-up founded in 2018, announced today the close of its $8.1 million seed round. Including the $1.6 million it raised during its pre-seed round in 2018, this brings the company’s funding total $9.7 million to date.

The business-to-business ingredients company is focused on providing innovative plant protein formulas to major meat users for them to blend into their meats, enabling them to make better meat by boosting nutritionals, enhancing yield, and improving sustainability. Among other customers, Perdue Farms uses Better Meat Co. ingredients in its line of Perdue Chicken Plus nuggets, tenders, and patties that are available in 7,100 grocery stores. The Food Network recently named these the best-tasting frozen chicken nuggets in America.

“Meat consumers are increasingly diversifying their protein sources, and enhancing meat with delicious plant protein formulas is a win-win for the consumer and the planet,” said Paul Shapiro, CEO of The Better Meat Co.

The seed round was co-led by Greenlight Capital and Green Circle Foodtech Ventures. Johnsonville Holdings, parent company of Johnsonville Sausage, and Lever VC (a fund focused on sustainable protein start-ups) both also participated in the round.

“We were amazed by The Better Meat Co.'s ability to provide its customers with clean label plant-based formulas that blend seamlessly into ground meats, often at a lower cost,” said Stu Strumwasser, Managing Director of Green Circle Capital and now a Better Meat Co. board member. “We were also drawn to these thought leaders’ strategy of partnering with major meat companies to immediately make an environmental and public health impact.”

The Better Meat Co.’s flagship meat enhancers are allergen-free, clean label, and cost-competitive with conventional meats. The company offers products to boost beef, pork, chicken, turkey, fish, and crab products.

Greenlight Capital is a hedge fund co-founded in 1996 by David Einhorn. Green Circle Foodtech Ventures is the venture capital arm of Green Circle Capital Partners, a boutique focused solely on healthy food, beverages, supplements, restaurants and related technologies.

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