NextGen Foods, a Singapore-based company and the manufacturers of vegan chicken brand TiNDLE have recently raised USD 100 million. This is the largest investment raised by a plant-based meat company in a Series A funding round ever. NextGen Foods was founded in 2020 by Andre Menezes, a Brazilian-born poultry exporter, and Timo Recker, a third-generation German schnitzel and other meat products manufacturer. The two met in a business incubator and created the company from common interest to reduce the dependence on animal agriculture, especially with chicken.
Their flagship product, TiNDLE is made to copy chicken in every possible way. It's made with only nine ingredients, the base is a blend of soy and wheat gluten which is combined with “lipi,” a plant-based fat that gives the product its chickeny feel. The resulting product does not contain cholesterol or antibiotics, and it is rich in protein and fiber than conventional chicken. NextGen Foods is a relatively new company but TiNDLE is already present in restaurants across The Netherlands, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, and the UAE.
The new investment comes in addition to a previous USD 30 million seed round and includes new investors from Singapore investment fund DBI, Indonesian capital firm Alpha JWC Ventures, and yes the former Bettle Paul McCartney's MPL Ventures.
The new funding will help NextGen Foods to expand TiNDLE to key geos, this will include Europe and the United States. This month TiNDLE will commence its presence in the US at selected restaurants. To promote its product the company partnered with celebrity chef Chad Rosenthal to serve samples of its vegan chicken. A food truck will make stops in different Brooklyn and Manhattan. At the same time, TiNDLE will continue expansion to restaurants in other major cities which include Miami, FL; San Francisco, CA; and Philadelphia, PA.
