Next Gen secures $20m seed round extension

Plant-based meat producer Next Gen Foods has announced a $20 million extension of its seed round, which takes the round’s total to $30 million.

Headquartered in Singapore, Next Gen is a food tech start-up developing and commercialising new plant-based food products. The company launched just last year after raising $2.2 million in seed funding.

The new funds will primarily be used to launch Tindle – the first brand created by Next Gen – in the US. Tindle plant-based chicken is already sold in more than 70 restaurants in Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau.

New investors in Next Gen include: GGV Capital, agriculture and food tech venture fund Bits x Bites, Yeo Hiap Seng, athletes including footballer Dele Alli, and Blitzscaling co-author Chris Yeh. Existing investors include Temasek and Asia-based venture capital fund K3 Ventures.

As part of its entry into the US market, Next Gen plans to hire more than 50 employees across research and development (R&D), sales, supply chain, finance and marketing.  

“The United States is the world’s biggest market for plant-based foods. We are already putting our foundations in place to be in-market within the next 12 months as we accelerate our goal of becoming the world’s number one plant-based chicken,” said Andre Menezes, who co-founded Next Gen with LikeMeat founder, Timo Recker.

The company will also use the extended funding for continued expansion in the APAC region and the Middle East, as well as for developing its technology, establishing an R&D centre in Singapore and product diversification.

Jenny Lee, a managing partner at GGV Capital, said: “The team’s focus on product quality, brand recall and distribution provides a strong foundation for the future growth of the company.

“Our partnership with the NextGen team is underpinned by our commitment to team up with founders who show real passion and flair in solving the fundamental challenges of our time – food sustainability is one of them.”

Jean Madden, Next Gen CMO, added: “Following our March 2021 Tindle launch, we have expanded to three key markets, and we expect to be in more than five by end-2021, a mark that some leading brands do not cross after years of existence.

“We are scaling at this incredibly fast pace with our asset-lite business model, distribution network, talent and collaborations with great chefs and hot restaurants.”