Next Gen Foods, the company behind the TiNDLE alternative protein brand, closed a record-breaking US$100 million Series A funding round, said to be the most to date for any plant-based meat company.
Investors in the round include Indonesian VC Alpha JWC Ventures, Singapore government-linked EDBI, and UK-based MPL Ventures – a firm owned by ex-Beatle Paul McCartney. The company has raised $130 million to date and plans to use the latest funding to expand its distribution in the US. Its products are currently available at restaurants in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Napa, New York and Philadelphia, with more planned, including Miami and Austin.
“There’s no question that the United States is home to some of the best food cities on the planet – and we’re excited to bring TiNDLE to this market and hear what consumers think,” said Andre Menezes, co-founder and CEO of Next Gen Foods. “The U.S. has long been a target market for us, and thanks to our lineup of fantastic investors who have participated in this funding round, this is only the beginning of our journey in delivering delicious and sustainable foods to reverse our climate crisis.”
Outside of the US, Next Gen Foods has launched products in Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Abu Dhabi, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai and Amsterdam. The company’s research and development center is being developed in partnership with the Food Tech Innovation Center in Singapore.
Next Gen Foods was founded in 2020 by Brazilian-born poultry exporter and food industry veteran Andre Menezes, and German native Timo Recker, whose family business made schnitzel and other meat products for three generations. After meeting through an introduction by Rohit Bhattacharya, who is now the startup’s Chief Financial Officer, they decided to work on products that reduce humanity’s reliance on animal agriculture.
The early leadership team – including Chief Marketing Officer Jean Madden – worked closely with Chief Technology Officer and the brainchild behind TiNDLE, John Seegers, to develop a flagship product through extensive research into what makes chicken taste and perform like chicken. They named their first product TiNDLE as a modern reference to 19th-century Irish physicist John Tyndall, who proved the connection between atmospheric CO2 and the greenhouse effect.
On average, chicken made from plants uses less land, less water, and produces less CO₂ than chicken from birds. Based on a 2020 Blue Horizon report, choosing plant-based chicken over avian meat saves 82% less water, 74% less land and 88% less greenhouse gas emissions.
