Meati raises $100m in funding, adds 2,000 retail locations

09-May-2024 - Last updated on 09-May-2024 at 16:50 GMT

Source: Getty/Tom Werner

Mycelium food maker Meati raised more than $100 million in Series C-1 funding "to help meet the growing demand for its products," and support its expansion into 2,000 Kroger Family Stores last month, bringing its retail footprint to more than 6,000 stores nationwide in over a year, according to the company.

Meati’s Series C-1 funding, which allows for a company to enter an expansion phase, was led by Grosvenor Food & AgTech, Prelude, BOND, Revolution Growth and Congruent.

Additionally, Mark Cupta from Prelude Ventures and Katrin Burt from Grosvenor Food & AgTech, have joined Meati as new board members. Meati’s co-founder and chief innovation officer, Tyler Huggins, will move to an advisory role “to support the company’s continued growth,” while CEO Phil Graves will lead the company’s daily operations, according to a statement.

“We are excited to continue our partnership with Meati. Meati produces delicious, nutritious and affordable protein and our firm is proud to back this category-leading product, talented team and mission to make MushroomRoot a global food staple,” said Katrin Burt, Managing Partner of Grosvenor Food & AgTech.

Meati expands despite slumping plant-based meat alternative sales

Meati’s fundraise and expansion comes at a critical time when plant-based protein sales and volumes are declining, and many grocery stores are scaling back on plant-based meat SKUs.

March 2024 sales of refrigerated and frozen plant-based meat alternatives decreased 8.3% year-on-year after two years of double-digit losses, according to 210 Analytics data. Refrigerated plant-based meat alternatives in retail also is on the decline, with retailers carrying an average of 10 to 11 products per store in March.

For frozen meat and poultry alternatives like Meati, March sales reached $74.4m versus $1.2bn in combined frozen meat and processed meat sales.

[Editor’s note: Interested in learning more about how some plant-based meat alternatives are bucking the downward sales and volume trend that have plagued the category post-pandemic? Join FoodNavigator-USA May 29 for our free webinar – Plant-based 3.0: Emerging from the trough of disillusionment. Get all the details and register HERE.]

From 6 to 6,000 retail stores in more than a year

Founded in 2017, Meati quickly has expanded its retail partnerships, which began with six retailers more than a year ago, and a goal of continued expansion across the country by the end of the year.

Most recently, Meati expanded distribution of its Eat Meati line, including the Classic Cutlet, Classic Steak, and Carne Asada Steak, to Kroger, Ralphs, Mariano's, City Market, King Soopers and Dillons. Meati also is available across a range of channels and retailers including Super Target, Whole Foods Market, Sprouts Farmers Market, Meijer and Wegmans, as well as its website.

According to the company, nearly 40% of Meati’s sales stem from new consumers with repurchase rates as high as 60%, highlighting its strong positioning in the alternative protein and animal-free sector.

The company attributes its growth to the opening of its 100,000+ square foot production facility—Mega Ranch—in Colorado, which opened in January 2023. The fully-integrated facility has the potential to produce 10 million pounds of mycelium, which are fermented in tanks, processed and then packaged into Eat Meati’s cutlets, steaks, breaded nuggets and jerky.