CHINA – Eat Just, a manufacturer of plant-based egg and cultivated meat products, has received a US$25 million investment from private equity firm C2 Capital Partners, to accelerate its expansion in China’s alt-protein market.
The funding marks the first investment in the alternative protein sector for C2, which was established in 2018 to provide growth capital and operational support to companies looking to scale in China.
The capital firm, which has Alibaba as its anchor investor, is currently supporting Eat Just in areas including sales and branding, as well as with the plant-based egg maker’s go-to-market strategies and regulatory approach in the country.
C2 managing partner, Steve Lin, stated: “We are excited to support alternative protein pioneer Eat Just’s mission and to accelerate the growth of their innovative products and technologies in China by leveraging the unique insights and resources of the C2/Alibaba ecosystem”.
Eat Just launched its popular plant-based egg brand in China on e-commerce platforms like Alibaba-owned Tmall.com in 2019 and since then has been growing its brand and business in China, primarily in Shanghai.
The company has also been in talks with Chinese officials on its meat made from cells, which has won regulatory approval and is being sold in Singapore.
Having chosen Singapore as the site for their Asian headquarters and an upcoming production facility, Eat Just could soon become Asia’s largest alt-protein manufacturer.
Eat Just launched its popular plant-based egg brand in China on e-commerce platforms like Alibaba-owned Tmall.com in 2019 and since then has been growing its brand and business in China, primarily in Shanghai.
Josh Tetrick, co-founder, and CEO of Eat Just commented that the cultivated meat processor’s team is grateful to partner with C2 to grow the business in China.
He noted the unique market insights and know-how of the investor that includes logistics, branding, marketing omnichannel sales and distribution and last-mile delivery will be instrumental in driving Eat Just’s growth in the most populated country in the world.
Putting aside the fast population growth in Asia which has 60% of the world’s population, with annual food spending expected to double from US$4 trillion to US$8 trillion by 2030, Asian diets are rapidly undergoing what experts have called a “meatification” or increase in animal protein intake.
Checking the per-capita egg consumption in markets such as Singapore, it far exceeds that of Western markets like the U.S. or UK, and at the same time, Asian consumers are increasingly conscious of the source and sustainability of their food products.
All this creates demand for Eat Just’s harm-free mung bean eggs and cultivated chicken, as explained by Saurabh Bajaj, Board Member of Eat Just Asia.
She added that there are other factors at play including the outbreak of zoonotic diseases like COVID-19 which are increasing scrutiny of [Asian] wet markets.
The pandemic and its supply chain disruptions have also highlighted the importance of food self-sufficiency for many nations, including Singapore.
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