Eat Just has raised $170 million in funding for the expansion of its Good Meat cultivated meat division, as it prepares for market entry in the US.
With the transaction, Good Meat becomes a subsidiary of Eat Just – which announced a $200 million fundraise in March to grow its plant-based egg alternative Just Egg, as well as its cultured meat.
Eat Just plans to use its latest funding to increase capacity and accelerate research and development of its Good Meat cultured chicken product.
The company plans to quickly scale production in North America and Asia through multi-million-dollar investments in the US and Singapore, as well as evaluate collaboration and acquisition opportunities.
Since Good Meat secured what is regarded as the world’s first regulatory approval for cultured meat, its product has been enjoyed by customers at Singapore’s 1880 restaurant and in homes through a partnership with delivery platform Foodpanda.
The funding also comes around the same time that JW Marriott Singapore South Beach’s renowned Cantonese restaurant Madame Fan will become the first restaurant in the world to replace conventional meat with cultured meat during set times.
Good Meat will replace conventional chicken for delivery from tomorrow and for once-a-week dine-in within dishes such as Asian-inspired chicken salad, steamed chicken dumplings and chicken stir-fry.
“This investment, along with the historic decision by JW Marriott Singapore South Beach, points to what’s ahead: meat without killing animals will replace conventional meat at some point in our lifetimes. The faster we make that happen, the healthier our planet will be,” said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of Eat Just.
The latest investment came from funds managed by UBS O’Connor, a hedge fund manager within UBS Asset Management, Graphene Ventures, K3 Ventures and others.
“This deal is changing the future in terms of how humanity is fed,” said Nabil Borhanu, founder and managing partner of Graphene Ventures.
He added: “Eat Just has led and dominated the plant-based egg category with its Just Egg products, and with all the efforts made, we’re confident that Good Meat will lead the cultured meat category starting with the $193 billion chicken market. For us, this is not only about meat, it’s about fuelling the growth of planet-friendly food alternatives that can feed a rapidly changing world.”
