Claire Smith of Beyond Impact

Claire Smith. © Beyond Impact

Investments & Acquisitions

Beyond Impact Provides Funding for Vegan Collagen, Cultivated Foie Gras & More

In February of last year, Beyond Impact launched its second venture capital fund to invest in early-stage vegan and cruelty-free companies. Since then, Beyond has provided funding to eight businesses, with 60% of these described as “ingredient and technology companies acting as enablers/capacity builders to make alternative proteins more feasible, scalable, affordable, and palatable”. A recent GFI report notes that increased investment in B2B businesses focused on ingredients and equipment will be vital to help the alt protein sector scale up. Examples of the investments include: Paleo, Belgium — A precision fermentation company producing key ingredients for use in alt meat products, such as an alternative to heme. Beyond recently participated in Paleo’s €12 million Series A round. Algama Foods, France — Transforming algae into …

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Claire Smith

Claire Smith. © Beyond Animal

Investments & Finance

Beyond Investing Founder Claire Smith Receives Investment Leader of The Year Award

Claire Smith, CEO of Beyond Investing, was recently named investment leader of the year in Environment Finance’s Sustainable Investment Awards 2022. Investor interest in the vegan market has reached an all-time high, spurred by the growing vegan movement and a global change in dietary preferences towards plant-based foods. Within the vegan investment category, Beyond Investing highlights that animal-friendly and climate-conscious investing can be good for people, planet and the bottom line. Smith received praise from the judges for her “commitment to action” and “amazing successes” in founding the first vegan tracking funds and giving vegan start-ups early funding. Back in September 2019, Beyond Investing launched The US Vegan Climate ETF, which was specifically designed to address the concerns of vegan investors. The story of Beyond …

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Claire Smith, image courtesy of Beyond Animal

Investments & Finance

Beyond Impact Launches Second Vegan Venture Capital Fund

Following the success of its first vegan venture capital fund in 2018, Beyond Impact has launched a second fund to invest in early-stage companies producing alt-protein products and animal-free materials. Beyond Impact’s first fund was the first in Europe to focus entirely on plant-based and alternative protein companies. Its previous investments included BlueNalu, The EVERY Company, Meatless Farm, and Geltor, amongst others. The seed share class of the new vegan venture capital fund is already fully subscribed, with almost $25 million of commitments. A final close with a target of $110m is expected in the first half of 2022. “Beyond Impact’s second fund will build upon the success of the first Beyond Impact vehicle, which made over 20 investments in this area. By supporting forward-thinking …

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Stock market

Beyond Investing’s Vegan Climate ETF Celebrates Two Years of Outperforming the S&P 500

Beyond Investing‘s vegan  Exchange Traded Fund, the US Vegan Climate ETF (ticker: VEGN) marks two years since launch with almost $65million in assets and outperformance versus the S&P500 Index since inception VEGN has returned a total of 67.91% vs S&P 500 Index’s 57.07% (on market price) since inception to end of August 2021. Two years ago, when Beyond Investing launched the world’s first vegan-friendly, climate-conscious ETF, its founders say it was an uphill battle to explain why other funds which purported to follow environmental and social principles were actually not doing so. Today, greater understanding of ethical investment, of the dire eco-emergency, and of the need to pay more than lip service to ESG goals has seen the VEGN ETF perform better than the US …

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Claire Smith: CEO & Founder at Beyond Impact

© Beyond Impact

Company News

Canada’s Plant Veda Announces Claire Smith as Company Board Member & Listing on Frankfurt Stock Exchange

Plant Veda Foods Ltd. announces today the onboarding of Company Board Member, Claire Smith, Founder and Principal at Beyond Impact Vegan Advisors. Earlier this month the company, which creates one-of-a-kind and first-to-market alt dairy products such as the “world’s first” vegan lassi, began trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the ticker symbol “MILK”. Claire has been part of Plant Veda‘s board of directors since 2020, following an investment in the Company by Beyond Impact Vegan Partners LP. Claire has over 35 years of experience in capital markets previously working at global investment banks and investment houses, with her vegan lifestyle and environmentalism leading to the founding of humane investment platform, Beyond Investing. Beyond Investing creates a platform for investments driven by animal-rights advocates and …

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Claire Smith, image courtesy of Beyond Animal

Interviews

Interview with Claire Smith on Beyond Impact Vegan Diversity Rolling Fund

Pioneering investor in vegan, cruelty-free and animal-replacing products and services Beyond Impact (part of the larger Beyond Investing vegan investment platform) is making its expertise in the selection of high potential and impactful companies available to a wider audience of investors with the launch of its Vegan Diversity Fund, available on the Angellist platform as a Rolling Fund with first close on July 1st 2021. Beyond Impact has been an active investor in this sector since 2017, participating in the earliest rounds of cellular agriculture companies, like Mosa Meat and Blue Nalu, deeptech alternative protein producers, such as Geltor and Clara Foods, and plant-based brands, such has Meatless Farm and Plant Veda. Since its initial seed investments, companies in its portfolio have gone on to …

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NewFood Invest 2021

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Fairs & Events

Industry Pioneers Confirm Participation in New Food Invest 2021

New Food Invest (NFI), co-hosted by international non-profit organisation ProVeg and investment platform Beyond Animal, will take place on 18 March 2021. The virtual summit, which brings together international plant-based and cultured food companies with investors and venture capitalists, will offer networking with heavyweights from the plant-based industry.

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Environmental Conscious Businessman in Nature

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Top Stories

Beyond Investing Launches World’s First Vegan Exchange Traded Fund

An ethical stock investment option which is both cruelty-free and fossil fuel-free will be launched by Beyond Investing onto the New York Stock Exchange on 10th September. The US Vegan Climate ETF (ticker VEGN) was due to launch in January this year but there were some delays. However, the prospectus was filed and accepted by the SEC last weekend.

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Claire Smith

Quelle: Beyond Impact

Interviews

Claire Smith: “Sustainable Investing Has the Power, if Enough People do it, to Significantly Impact the Future Prospects of Companies”

Oftentimes we might think that our decision don’t change the world. Claire Smith is arguing that we may have more power than we think through “green and sustainable investments”. The founder of “Beyond Investing” will take you on a enlightening journey to vegan stocks, current developments in the stock market and the power behind it.

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