Alt-Meat innovator Redefine Meat has completed a US$29 million series A funding round led by Happiness Capital and Hanaco Ventures. 

The investment will be used to expand Redefine Meat’s portfolio and support its commercial launch and international growth in 2021, on the back of the slated completion of a large-scale production facility for the company’s industrial 3D Alt-Meat printers set for later this year.

A milestone year for alternative meat
“2021 will be a historic year not just for us, but for the alternative meat industry as a whole. Not only will we see 3D printed products in the market for the first time, but consumers will be able to experience whole cuts of meat previously thought unimaginable,” Eshchar Ben-Shitrit, CEO and co-founder of Redefine Meat, tells FoodIngredientsFirst. 

He also reveals that through the company’s strategic partners, Redefine Meat will initially launch its Alt-Meat products in Israel within the coming months, in Europe starting with Germany and Switzerland mid-year, and in Asia and North America later in the year. 

“We will also complete our large-scale pilot-line in Israel, which will see the first-ever industrial-scale meat 3D printers installed at customer sites later this year,” Ben-Shitrit adds. 

Commenting on the funding round, he says it will be used to optimize Redefine Meat’s products, expand its portfolio, and finalize the company’s industrial-scale 3D Alt-Meat printers ready for the first installations within customer sites later in 2021.

3D meat processing technology
Ben-Shitrit says he wants to change the belief that delicious meat can only come from animals. “We have all the building blocks in place to make this a reality.” 

Redefine Meat’s 3D printing technology can replicate whole muscle structures, whether beef, pork, lamb, chicken, or seafood such as salmon or tuna. “But for now, we are focused on beef,” confirms Ben-Shitrit. 

“Firstly, beef has the biggest business potential, it’s around a US$500 billion industry, but also because it has the biggest environmental impact. In the beef category, today, there are a large variety of products not catered for with alternative meat – it’s mainly minced meat, sausages and a handful of other products,” he explains. 

Redefine Meat’s product portfolio will include different whole beef cuts (Entrecôte, fillet, sirloin, brisket), different types of cooking styles (grilled, slow-cooked, stew), and even meats with varying levels of fat content and marbling customized to consumer needs. 

“The joy with digitally manufacturing meat is that all of these different meat types are saved as digital files, each with their digital matrix and ingredient profile, so our customers can just print whatever they need on demand without the need to change entire formulations.”

“Creating meat that tastes and feels as good as animal meat is a huge challenge, and while many companies are doing some incredible things in this area, we have demonstrated that we can achieve this – not just in a lab, but in a commercial and scalable way.”

The investors who have been with us since day one have seen this first hand and was why we raised this round in record time, continues Ben-Shitrit.

Support from investors
The funding round is also supported by CPT Capital, an alternative protein investor and early supporter of Redefine Meat, and other notable international investors, including Losa Group, Sake Bosch and K3 Ventures. 

“This funding, which was concluded faster and better than we could have imagined a year ago, is a major step toward becoming the world’s biggest alternative meat company by 2030.”

Eyeing future partnerships, he says Redefine Meat is “very open to working with other stakeholders in the industry to better understand meat, the industry, the supply chain, and ultimately how best to bring our products to market.”

But at a higher-level, understanding the fundamentals of meat R&D, will be critical to delivering the quality of alternative meat products to truly take animal meat on at a mass mainstream-level, Ben-Shitrit asserts. 

“To do that requires industry-wide collaboration – no one company can do it alone. We need to work closely together with chefs, butchers, meat scientists and other key stakeholders across the industry to share expertise and learn from each other.”The investment will be used for large-scale pilot lines and product launches in Europe, followed by Asia and North America later this year.

“We look to find disruptive technology and ambitious leadership teams in industries that can bring real happiness to people and make the world a better place,” comments Eric Ng, CEO of Happiness Capital. 

The fast-growing alternative meat sector is one such industry, but there is currently a gap in its ability to meet the needs of people who still want to eat traditional meat, he notes. 

“Redefine Meat offers a solution that appeals to meat-eaters with tasty and sustainable food. With technology that is ready for production and strong strategic partners, Redefine Meat is poised to deliver high-quality meat alternatives that can make a meaningful impact on global meat consumption.”

Hanaco Ventures has been an investor in Redefine Meat since its seed round in 2019.

“We have been very fortunate to work closely with Redefine Meat during 2020 and have watched the company rapidly grow from eight people to more than 40, despite the challenges of COVID-19. Our investment in Redefine Meat gives us first-hand access to amazing state-of-the-art meat dishes that will have a profound impact on meat-eating and the environment,” says Pasha Romanovski, founding partner of Hanaco Ventures.

Last month, Redefine Meat announced its strategic agreement with Israeli meat distributor Best Meister, following the world’s largest blind-tasting of alternative meat co-organized by the two companies, which demonstrated a 90 percent acceptance rate amongst meat-eaters.