Planetarians has raised $6 million in a seed II round to support the commercial production of its plant-based meat.

Based in California, Planetarians upcycles byproducts to make its two-ingredient vegan whole cuts. The brand uses spent yeast from fermentation facilities and native plant proteins, such as soy flakes, left over from vegetable oil extraction.

Led by venture capital firm Mindrock, the round also included Traction Fund, Techstars, SOSV and AB InBev’s corporate venture arm, ZX Ventures.

Planetarians currently operates a pilot plant in Hayward, California, and will use the new funds to open a full-scale production facility to fulfil its first commercial agreements with foodservice customers.

According to Planetarians, analysts at economic and social science research think tank, Iamecon, found the carbon footprint of its products to be 50x smaller than that of animal meat and 9x smaller than that of other plant-based meats.

Co-founder Aleh Manchuliantsau said: “It took seven years of R&D to work through the long list of ingredients that are possible for plant-based proteins before we realised that one readily available fermented protein, spent yeast from breweries, could combine with soy flakes and other native plant proteins to deliver a meaty taste and texture at a low cost compared to the alternatives”.

Max Barnthouse, co-founder and chef, added: “We are deeply grateful for the support of Mindrock, AB InBev and the rest of our investors. Like many other hard-working entrepreneurs and scientists, we have been trying to discover an alternative protein that hits all the marks. I think we have finally found it. I cannot wait to see Planetarians’ technology deployed across every brewery in the world.”

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