Plant-based meat manufacturer v2food hopes to take its product to the world following the closing of a $77 million Series B funding round.
The Series B brings v2food's total funds raised to $113 million, enabling it to complete its production facility in Wodonga in Victoria, grow its team and continue to launch products into new markets, including Asia.
The company behind the Hungry Jack's Rebel Whopper burger secured the funding from new and existing investors including ABC World Asia, Altitude Partners, China Renaissance, Esenagro, Horizons Ventures, Main Sequence Ventures, Marinya Capital, Novel Investments, Sequoia Capital China and Temasek.
"This funding is a pivotal step towards v2food's goal of transforming the way the world produces food," said v2food founder and CEO Nick Hazell.
"It's imperative that we continue to scale quickly because this global issue needs an immediate solution. As we enter our next phase of growth, we are grateful to have the support of world-renowned investors who share our urgent mission of solving the global food challenge.
"v2food has had a global view since our founding, and this investment will help us establish our business in Asia, Europe and the rest of the world."
Founded in 2019 with Australia's national science agency CSIRO, Main Sequence Ventures and Hungry Jack's co-founder Jack Cowin's Competitive Foods Australia as shareholders, v2food hopes to create a 'version two' of meat.
The company believes customers will change their eating habits after experiencing the taste of their plant-based products, created from protein extracted from legumes to create 'mince' that looks and cooks like meat.
In addition to being sold at Hungry Jack's, the company supplies Burger King in New Zealand and is stocked in Drakes and Woolworths.
"v2 has gone from strength to strength, and we're delighted to continue to help Nick and the team take on the global challenge of producing Australian-made plant-based meat that is delicious and environmentally sustainable," said partner at Main Sequence Ventures Phil Morale.
"In this round, we are pleased to be joined by an assembly of world-class investors to support the company's international export ambitions."
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Business News Australia
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