Chilean food-tech firm NotCo has raised $85 million in a Series C funding round, as it announces the expansion of its plant-based milk and meat products to the US market.
The round was co-led by Future Positive – which has invested in Beyond Meat and Memphis Meat – and consumer-focused private equity firm L Catterton. They join existing investors such as Kaszek Ventures, Indie Bio and Bezos Expeditions which also participated in a $30 million funding round in the company last year.
Founded in 2015, NotCo uses artificial intelligence (AI) to develop plant-based foods. Its portfolio consists of NotMilk, NotBurger, NotIceCream and NotMayo which have been launched in Brazil, Argentina and Chile.
According to NotCo, in less than three years it has become the largest and fastest-growing food-tech company in Latin America.
The new funding comes as the company announces scaled up operations and its plans for international expansion, beginning with its entry into the US. NotCo says it will evaluate both food service and retail partners as a part of this expansion, building on from its NotBurger and NotMeat partnerships with Burger King and Papa John’s in Chile.
“We are pleased to partner with a true disruptor in the food-tech industry,” said Ramiro Lauzan, partner at L Catterton Latin America.
He added: “NotCo is pursuing a fundamentally original way of replacing animal-based foods with more sustainable alternatives through the application of food science and innovative technology. By leveraging our experience in ‘better for you’ businesses around the world, and working alongside NotCo’s talented team, we look forward to materialising the company’s successful expansion into the US market.”
To assist its international expansion plans, a number of senior executives from multi-national brands join the company, while NotCo’s co-founders, Matias Muchnick (CEO) and Karim Pichara (CTO), will now be based in the US.
Flavia Buchmann, formerly in charge of the Sprite global business for Coca-Cola, will take up the position of global CMO; former Danone executive Catriel Giuliano will head the global R&D; while Jose Menendez, formerly at tech-company Jeffries and Tapad, will serve as global COO.
Fred Blackford, co-founder of Future Positive, said: “We are inspired by the vision and global ambition for the NotCo brand, and impressed by the quality of NotCo’s products, which speak for themselves. We see vast potential for the company’s technology, which is creating new product categories faster and more accurately than anyone else in the industry.”
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024
World Beverage Innovation Awards – NOW OPEN FOR ENTRIES!
The awards celebrate excellence and innovation across the global beverage industry. Don’t miss out on having your innovations recognised on a global scale.
Deadline for entries 23 July – enter now!
Don’t get left behind
Start your free Foodbev magazine trial today and join thousands of fellow industry professionals in receiving food and drink trends direct to our business.
Click here to start your free trial
Your privacy We use small files known as ‘cookies’ to enhance your experience of the FoodBev website and analyse site-traffic. Read about how we use cookies or how you may control them in our updated privacy policy and cookie policy. If you continue to use this site, you consent to our use of cookies. Click the ‘OKAY‘ button at the top right of this panel to accept or click here for more information.