Israeli startup Redefine Meat, has developed a manufacturing process to make plant-based proteins resembling choice cuts of beef than the current hamburger style offerings from its competitors.
It brought them a big vote of confidence from the investment arm of one of Asia’s premier food brands.
The company raised $29 million in financing from Happiness Capital, from Hong Kong’s Investor Lee Kum Kee and his condiment dynasty, and Hanaco Ventures, an investment fund backing startups in the United States and Israel.
Investors have invaded the plant-based food industry, fortunes were raised by companies like Beyond Meat, which has created partnerships with everyone from Pepsico to McDonald’s, and Impossible Foods, which counts Burger King among the brands boosting its plant-based faux meat.
All these companies have perfected plant patties that are a delight to our taste but, the prospect of bitting a cut of pea protein in the form of a ribeye, sirloin, or rump steak has been a technical hurdle for all these companies have yet to overcome in a commercial offering.
Redefine Meat manufacturing processes have cracked the code on the formulation of plant-based steak.
The company is using 3D printing technologies to make meat substitutes mimicking the taste and texture of steaks, rather than trying to emulate the patties, meatballs, and ground meat that companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible have taken to market.
The company said it would use the new funding to expand its portfolio and support the commercial launch of its products by redefining its production strategy and having a large-scale production facility for its 3D printers online before the end of the year, the company said in a statement.
“We want to change the belief that delicious meat can only come from animals, and we have all the building blocks in place to make this a reality: high-quality meat products, strategic partnerships with stakeholders across the world, a large-scale pilot line under construction, and the first-ever industrial 3D Alt-Meat printers set to be deployed within meat distributors later this year,” said Eschar Ben-Shitrit, the company’s chief executive, in a statement.
