China’s Haofood has completed a seed funding round where it raised $3.5 million for its peanut-based chicken alternative. Participants included Monde Nissin CEO Henry Soesanto, ProVeg International, and Big Idea Ventures.
The female-led startup plans to use the funding to diversify its channel sales strategy and advance its R&D infrastructure facility. The new facility will enable Haofood to increase and expand its product range, allowing the company to grow its business both domestically and abroad.
Haofood’s existing products are already used by over 50 brands across China, including several restaurants, and expansion to other Asian countries is planned. The company says consumers love the peanut-based chicken’s texture and umami flavour.
“Uniting past, present, and future”
Haofood is a graduate of the fifth cohort of the ProVeg incubator. The startup’s co-founder and CEO, Astrid Prajogo, was also a finalist in 2020’s VWS Pathfinder competition. She says her mission is to “unite past, present, and future”, creating traditional dishes with futuristic ingredients that allow consumers to enjoy sustainable food in the present.
“We are honoured to have received backing from investors who share our passion for creating plant-based chicken alternatives that are not only sustainable, but that people enjoy. With this round of funding we will be able to innovate further and make excellent quality alternative protein products more accessible for consumers in China and across Asia,” said Prajogo.