US-based Mission Barns has raised $24m in a Series A funding round to enhance its cell-cultured fat technology and build a pilot production facility.

The funding round was joined by Lever VC, Gullspang Re:Food, Humboldt Fund, Green Monday Ventures, Enfini Ventures, Blue Ledge Capital, Prithvi Ventures, Joyance Partners and a European meat company.

Some of the seed investors, including Global Founders Capital, Point Nine Capital, Better Ventures and Cantos Ventures, also increased their stake in the company.

Lever VC managing partner Nick Cooney said: “I’ve been sampling plant-based meats for 20 years from a huge variety of brands globally, and have never tasted anything as meat-like as products containing Mission Fat.

“This is going to be a game-changer for the alternative meat sector because it’s going to help brands around the world have a dramatically better product almost overnight.”

California-based Mission Barns said that it uses its technology for producing animal fat with pork, poultry or beef cells, which are grown using plant-based feedstock in a cultivator.

The company claims that its end product offers the same mouthfeel and flavour of meat without slaughtering animals.

Mission Barns added that its cultivated fat product can be used in various applications such as bacon, breakfast patties, burgers, nuggets, dumplings, hot dogs, poultry sausages and meatballs.

Mission Barns CEO Eitan Fischer said: “Time and again, we see that the addition of Mission Fat to plant proteins makes alternative meat products in any number of categories far outperform the incumbent plant-based options.”