UK television broadcaster ITV has bought a minority stake in plant-based meat brand This, its first investment in a food company.

The investment was made as part of ITV AdVentures Invest, the broadcaster’s Media for Equity investment fund. ITV has agreed to invest up to £4 million of advertising inventory across its channels in return for a minority stake in the company.

Sheena Amin, director of ITV AdVentures, said that as the fastest growing plant-based brand in the UK over the last two years, This is “well positioned to continue its strong growth within the plant-based meat alternatives sector”.

“We expect consumer demand for conscious consumption to continue to grow and with a broad set of products at attractive price points, This is the perfect brand to help make conscious eating accessible to all,” Amin commented.

“With such a distinctive brand personality, I am confident that This’ upcoming TV campaign will stand out from the crowd and help the brand become a worthy household name.”

Andy Shovel, co-founder and co-CEO of This, commented: “ITV is a media powerhouse, and to have them as an investor, especially as their first food business investment, is super exciting. Not only did we get to make the porkiest plant-based TV ad ever, the scale of the investment means that we can reach audiences across the country and get closer to making meat-free the norm.”

This was founded in June 2019 by Shovel and co-founder Pete Sharman as a plant-based brand for meat lovers. The company aims to create “hyper-realistic” meat alternatives, with alternatives to pork, beef and chicken available at supermarkets, restaurants and cafes across the UK.

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