Green Butcher, an Indonesian plant-based meat startup focused on Asian flavours, announces the closure of its seed round led by Unovis for an undisclosed amount, as well as the debut of a range of its products at 50 Starbucks outlets. Together, the two companies have developed alternative meal options featuring Green Butcher’s plant-based meat alternatives.
The Green Butcher products, created with mushroom, GMO-free soy, chickpea, and seitan, will roll out into Starbucks in Greater Jakarta and Bali throughout February. Founded by Max Mandias and Helga Angelina, founders of Burgreens, the largest plant-based eatery chain in Indonesia, the brand creates products that are specifically developed to match Asian comfort foods, such as Chick’n Satay, Chick’n Karaage, Beefless Chunks, Beefless Rendang, and Shroom Balls.
Leading investors in the funding round include Unovis Asset Management, Teja Ventures, joined by the impact-oriented SavEarth Fund of James and Suzie Cameron, Phi Trust, C4D, and individual investors Elisa Khong, Michal Klar, and Simon Newstead. The fresh funding will help the startup expand its range of innovative meat alternatives and accelerate its retail launch. “This fresh funding will help us expand the R&D team, scale production and launch into mainstream retail by Q2 2021,” commented Helga Angelina, co-founder and CEO of Green Butcher.
Starbucks is currently increasing its focus on the Asian market and has already introduced new plant-based menu options in cooperation with Beyond Meat, Oatly and Omnipork in all of its approximately 4,200 locations in China last year. The new partnership with Green Butcher initially includes three alternative menu items created with the start-up’s plant-based beef alternative. Customers at over 50 Starbucks Indonesia locations in Greater Jakarta and Bali can look forward to an expanded plant-based offering in the future.
“We are excited to be the pioneering plant-based start-up that focuses on the unique culinary experience of Indonesian & South East Asian cuisines. By recreating many of the locals’ most-loved comfort foods entirely from plants, combined with the rapid rise of flexitarians – our products will undoubtedly be spicing things up in Indonesia, the region, and beyond” said co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer, Max Mandias.
