By Lynda Kiernan
The Eat Beyond Global Investment Fund (Eat Beyond), a first-of-its-kind fund in Canada, has been launched to participate in, and capitalize upon the growth occurring in the alternative food sector.
A rapid transformation is occurring in global food markets as alternative proteins including plant-based protein, edible insect, cultured meats, algae-based protein, and microbial protein gain traction with consumers and confidence from investors.
As a participant in this growth, Eat Beyond is initially raising up to C$7 million (US$5.3 million) to deploy across eight to 10 investments in the key categories of plant-based protein, fermented foods, cultured agriculture, food tech, CPG.velocity, and cellular ag, according to the fund. Once established, the fund has plans to go on to raise an additional C$10-$20 million (US$7.5-$15 million) to ultimately build a portfolio over the next four years of 10-20 investments ranging from $1 million to $10 each.
Nearly half, or 40 percent of these investments will focus on food tech, with another 30 percent dedicated to plant-based CPG companies. Another 15 percent will be invested in production; 10 percent to cellular agriculture, and the last 5 percent of capital will be earmarked for “exploration”.
Plans for the fund also include listing on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) in the second quarter of this year, before possibly expanding into the U.S., or London exchanges.
To-date, $17 billion has been invested in plant-based food companies that in 2018 saw a 39 percent year-on-year increase in investment deals, according to a report issued by The Good Food Institute. With this momentum, the global alternative protein market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.5 percent between 2019 and 2025, to reach a value of $17.9 billion, according to Meticulous Research.
Global protein consumption is expected to climb at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.7 percent, reaching 943 million tons by 2054, according to Lux Research. Over this same time period, alternative protein sources are forecast to command up to a third of the protein market as they fill the void created by slowing growth in meat and seafood production, and demand shifts within the consumer market.
“This is clearly a growing sector, and we noticed that there weren’t many opportunities for the retail investor to participate – so we created one ourselves,” said Patrick Morris, CEO, Eat Global.
“We spent over a year reaching out to over 100 companies worldwide, and the innovation that we saw blew us away. I expected to see 100 different types of vegan burger patties – but we found companies creating everything imaginable, and have decided to focus our efforts on alternatives in four key areas: meat, seafood, eggs, and dairy.”
This active research is being conducted by Eat Beyond into the latest opportunities in the alternative protein space is supported by an investment committee assembled from industry-leading experts who will lend their expertise for vetting potential companies for investment and their potential.
This committee includes:
- Lloyd Lockhart: co-founder of Choices Market with 46 years of grocery retail experience.
- Diane Jang: Consumer packaged goods industry veteran with 29 years of experience with companies such as Sunrise Soya Foods, Earth’s Own Food Co Inc., Hempco Food and Fiber Inc.
- Alan Linder: Food distribution expert with over 30 years of experience managing food distribution across both North America and Asia, including 25 years with United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI)
The very quick success and market adoption of plant-based alternative foods is indicative of the great potential still dormant in the industry. In only the past year, the rate of U.S. sales of plant-based foods marketed to replace their animal-derived counterparts has grown by 17 percent to a value of $3.7 billion, while over the same time period, overall retail food sales in the U.S. grew by only 2 percent.
Agtech and food tech investment banker Adam Bergman, addresses this trend in his recently published article in GAI News Plant Based Protein is Here to Stay, “The best evidence of this is the recent news that Burger King’s U.S. comparable sales jumped 5 percent in the 3rd quarter following the launch of the Impossible Whopper, which is a strong indication that alternative protein is going mainstream quickly.”
– Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to the GAI News and Agtech Intel platforms. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration, please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.