Sunshine Coast-based Fable Food Co has fended off a downturn in the plant-based meat sector to raise US$8.5 million ($12.26 million) in a Series A funding round that was backed by Singapore venture capital firm K3 Ventures.
Fable Food Co, led by former Shoes of Prey CEO and co-founder Michael Fox, has also attracted investment from high-profile food industry players Greg Creed, the former global CEO of Yum! Brands, and the founders of Singapore’s Salad Stop!, which has become a recent customer of the company’s products.
The latest round comes on the heels of a $6.5 million seed funding raise in mid-2021 which brought Fable Food Co’s mushroom-based meat alternative burger patty to the market in partnership with the Grill’d chain.
Fable Food Co followed up that distribution deal in Australia market by later partnering with Guzman y Gomez and The Coffee Club, launching internationally in the UK, US, Singapore and New Zealand last year.
In the UK, Fable Food Co’s products are being used by burger chain Honest Burgers, meal delivery companies Gousto and Planty, and organic supermarket chain Planet Organics.
Elsewhere, Fable supplies to plant-based quick service restaurant chain Beatnic - formerly known as By Chloe - in the US, Hell Pizza in New Zealand, and Salad Stop! in Singapore.
Fable Food Co was founded in 2019 by Fox, Jim Fuller, a chemical engineer and fine-dining chef, and Chris McLoghlin, an organic mushroom farmer. The trio’s aim was to make food healthier and more sustainable, while bringing an end to ‘industrial animal agriculture’.
Related story: How Fable Food Co founder Michael Fox tricked himself back into business
Fox, the Fable’s CEO, says the latest funding round will help drive the company’s global expansion plans.
“Thanks to the backing and support of K3 Ventures and all of our investors, we will be able to accelerate bringing our delicious, clean label, and sustainable meaty mushroom products to every market in the world,” he says.
“We want to inspire the world to make more sustainable food choices. We believe that eating more delicious, meaty food made from mushrooms will help the world reduce global meat consumption – without compromising on taste, texture, or experience – and this is how we will be able to achieve a more sustainable food system.”
Fable Food Co’s expansion and capital raising has been achieved amid a downturn in the plant-based meat market, led by the pressures of global food inflation.
A report by Deloitte last year found that the industry was suffering from a perception problem with fewer consumers believing the products are healthier and better for the planet.
Fable Food Co differentiates its products as mushroom-based, offering a clean label that is minimally processed and made with natural plant-based ingredients.
Fox tells Business News Australia mushrooms have a cellular structure than can replicate the texture of meat better than soy and peas, which are the dominant ingredients of many plant-based meats.
“Our products are performing really well on taste, price and health which are the three qualities consumers want in their food, and that has allowed us to grow really quickly,” says Fox.
The Fable co-founder says the company has managed to ‘consistently double’ revenue every year since it was founded in 2019.
Fable Food Co plans to use the proceeds of the latest funding round to drive growth in the UK and US, while also investing in research and development of new products.
Fox reveals that Fable is launching next week into the New York-based STK Steakhouse chain, which operates 27 premium steak restaurants in the US and overseas.
“Our slider patties are going on the menu and that will be their first vegan option on the menus at STK Steakhouses,” says Fox.
The company has attracted high profile advocates, notably celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal who features Fable’s mushroom-based meats on the menus of his Michelin Star restaurants.
K3 Ventures’ managing partner Kuok Meng Xiong sees big potential in his group’s investment in the company.
“Fable is reshaping the future of food by leveraging the power of mushrooms to create their delicious plant-based products,” he says.
“K3 is proud to get behind their mission to inspire people to make food choices that are better for their health and the environment.
“We're excited to be a part of the next stage of Fable's growth and to support their ambitions to combat arguably one of the biggest issues of our time – climate change.”
Creed, who once led KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell owner Yum! Brands, sees plant-based meat as more than a just fad.
“After four decades working in the consumer goods and food industries, first with Unilever, then with Yum! Brands, I have witnessed the changing demands of consumers around the world when it comes to what they eat,” he says.
“I’ve seen plenty of fads and gimmicks along the way and I know one thing that consumers will never compromise on, is taste.
“What Fable has nailed is the intersection of health, sustainability, and taste with their range of mushroom products. Their early success in retail and restaurants with the likes of Grill’d and Guzman y Gomez drew my attention, but it’s their team and mission that secured my investment in them.”
Fable Food Co’s existing investors Blackbird, AgFunder and Aera VC participated in the latest Series A round, along with vegan television personality and podcaster Osher Günsberg and his wife Audrey Griffen.
Among the new investors is Professor Peter Singer, a professor of bioethics at Princeton University and one of the intellectual founders of the modern animal rights movement.
“I’m delighted to be able to invest in a company that seeks to end industrial agriculture by making plant-based food I love to cook with,” says Singer.
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