We are pleased to announce that we have completed our fundraise for fast-growing food tech company Better Nature, with this investment forming part of the company’s wider £3m Series A round.

Better Nature is building Europe’s leading brand for tempeh, a 100% natural and delicious, protein-rich plant-based food that is set to go mainstream amidst growing demand for minimally-processed, whole food options.

Better Nature is the world’s first food tech company focused solely on tempeh fermentation – the process by which tempeh is made. This technology, underpinned by a portfolio of four WIPO filed patents, is enabling the development of a wide range of tempeh-derived consumer products, as well as ingredients products for the B2B market.

The company’s consumer products (including Organic Tempeh and Mediterranean Tempeh Pieces) are already available in over 900 retail locations, including Tesco, Planet Organic, Whole Foods Market, Selfridges and REWE (Germany’s second largest retailer). It also supplies meal kit company Mindful Chef and large UK food wholesaler and distributor Bidfood, amongst others.

Better Nature has also started working with Lidl on special week-long promotions in all of its 900+ stores nationwide. In the first promotion, 32,000 units were sold in seven days (which is equivalent to one unit sold every 19 seconds on average), and it has just completed its second promotion with the retailer (sales figures TBC). Better Nature has now also announced that it will be rolling two of its products out nationwide with ASDA in January 2024.

The new funding round is intended to support the company – which is led by co-founders Christopher Kong, Elin Roberts, Fabio Rinaldo and Driando Ahnan-Winarno – as it seeks to continue capitalising on this strong market traction in the UK and targets expansion across Europe and into the US.

The founding team has been supported over the past 18 months by ex-Non-Executive Director Peter Marsh – previously CEO of Planet Organic and holder of various executive roles at Marks and Spencer – who says that Better Nature has "an impressive team and exceptional product".

The company has recently announced a new NED, Fiona Fitzpatrick – who has held senior positions at the likes of Nestlé, Gü Desserts and Strong Roots – to help steer the brand through its next phase of growth.

On joining the company, she commented:

“As a plant-based brand championing natural and nutritious foods, the business is perfectly poised to steer the meat-free category into a new phase of growth.”

“I met the founders on a trip to London earlier this year and was struck by their incredible intelligence, passion, values and determination to make tempeh the mainstream choice for people looking for better sources of plant protein.”

Rebecca Hodges, Head of Business Development at Growthdeck, says:

“We are delighted to be backing Better Nature as it helps to drive the plant-based category's transition towards more healthy, all-natural options.”

“Within this category, there is a real opportunity for brands which can deliver on health, taste and convenience, and Better Nature has a strong range of products that are perfectly placed to capitalise on this.”

Chris Kong, Better Nature Co-Founder and CEO, says:

“At Better Nature, as the UK’s leading tempeh brand, we are on a mission to transform the meat-free aisle with natural, healthy, whole foods, and this round will certainly help us on our journey to achieve that goal.”

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