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Top 10 food funding rounds of 2021

https://www.fooddive.com/news/top-10-food-funding-rounds-of-2021/611821/

The year has had 13 unique investment periods where companies received more than $100 million — a trend that is not likely to end soon, experts say.

In 2021, food sales were booming and funding for private startups was freely flowing.

Fundraising records in food and beverage have been repeatedly shattered as the year has gone on. As of Dec. 23, there were 13 individual funding rounds in 2021 alone where a food company received $100 million or more.

Alternative protein and food tech companies garnered the biggest investment rounds. Impossible Foods led the pack with the biggest single round thus far, closing its second blockbuster $500 million funding round in two years. Eat Just saw two huge funding rounds — $200 million for the whole company in March and a total of $267 million for its cell-based Good Meat subsidiary announced in May and September.

Eat Just's $267 million held the record for the largest-ever single round for a company in the cultivated meat space until December, when Future Meat Technologies announced it had raised $347 million.

Johnny Ream, a partner at Stray Dog Capital, said on a panel at the Good Food Conference in September that there are many indicators driving the investments into alternative proteins. Steady growth in market share for plant-based meat products show investors that the appetite for the segment is growing. And as cell-based meat companies hit developmental milestones — building plants, reducing cost, growing larger pieces of meat — there's reason to show that more funds will be used to help them reach the goal of having products to sell.

But even though investments are growing in this sector, Ream said at the conference that the sector isn't getting the attention it needs when compared to other industries.

"Comparatively speaking, funding in alternative proteins is seeing less than 1% of the funding levels that are present in renewable energy and energy transition," Ream said. "And what this shows us is that despite the growth to date, we believe there is significantly more capacity for innovation in alternative proteins to accelerate development."

Alternative proteins aren't the only area seeing huge funding rounds, however. Bowery, a vertical farming company, had a $300 million investment round — the year's fifth biggest. Nick's, a Sweden-based company making better-for-you ice cream and snacks, closed a $100 million funding round in October.

As the year draws to a close, here are 10 of 2021's largest funding rounds in the food industry.

Impossible Foods raises $500M, bringing its lifetime funding to more than $2B
By Megan Poinski • Nov. 23, 2021
The company, which says it is the fastest growing in plant-based meat, plans to use the money to accelerate its expansion in the U.S. and abroad. Read the full article ?

Nature's Fynd closes $350M investment round
By Megan Poinski • July 19, 2021
The fermented protein company will use the funds to accelerate growth, with plans for a wide-scale 2022 product launch. Read the full article ?

Perfect Day raises $350M and announces animal-free cream cheese
By Megan Poinski • Sept. 30, 2021
The proceeds from the round, tied for the largest single fundraising in the alternative protein space this year, will go toward science, innovation, product development and helping other startups scale. Read the full article ?

Future Meat Technologies raises $347M and makes a $1.70 cell-based chicken breast
By Megan Poinski • Dec. 20, 2021
The Israeli cultivated meat company also has plans to break ground on a U.S. facility in 2022, with operations beginning in 2024. Read the full article ?

LiveKindly Collective closes $335M funding round
By Megan Poinski • March 29, 2021
In its first year, the platform company dedicated to increasing plant-based eating has raised $535 million. These latest funds will support expansion to the U.S. and China, acquisitions, partnerships and innovation. Read the full article ?

Vertical farming company Bowery raises $300M, valuing firm at $2.3B
By Christopher Doering • May 25, 2021
Investors have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into indoor agriculture as demand for freshly grown, locally produced offerings has soared among consumers. Read the full article ?

Eat Just cultured chicken investment increases to $267M
By Megan Poinski • May 18, 2021
The additional $97 million gives the company's Good Meat arm the largest funding round to date in the cell-based meat space, as former USDA Secretary Dan Glickman joins the division's advisory board. Read the full article ?

Plant-based NotCo gets $235M for expansion
By Megan Poinski • July 26, 2021
The funds bring the valuation of the Chilean company, which uses artificial intelligence to create realistic plant-based substitutes, to $1.5 billion. Read the full article ?

Motif FoodWorks closes $226M funding round
By Megan Poinski • June 16, 2021
The plant-based ingredients company, which expects to get its first two offerings on the market this year, plans to use the funds for expansion and more R&D. Read the full article ?

Eat Just gets $200M investment
By Megan Poinski • March 23, 2021
The funding round, led by the Qatar Investment Authority, will help the plant-based egg and cell-based meat company build capacity, increase R&D and grow its brands in international markets. Read the full article ?