Unicorn

Karim_Pichara_and_Matias_Muchnick_notco

Karim Pichara & Matias Muchnick © NotCo
Fundraising

NotCo Raises $70M to Catapult New B2B Platform Ahead of IPO

NotCo announces it has closed $70M in Series D1 funding to “catapult” a new B2B unit and accelerate the transformation of the industry, with Forbes suggesting today that the Chilean unicorn is “actively preparing for an IPO likely in 2025”. “These partnerships will help diversify and accelerate our impact while scaling the accessibility of truly delicious plant-based options to further propel the industry forward” The new platform will enable other CPG brands, ingredient suppliers and tech providers to leverage NotCo’s AI platform “Giuseppe” for their own innovations, while NotCo will continue to operate its branded business, NotCo Food, offering products like NotMilk™, NotBurger™ and NotChicken™ through both retail and food service across the US. Kraft Heinz Not Company The news comes three days after the …

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UPSIDE Foods FDA greenlight

© UPSIDE Foods

Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

UPSIDE Foods Becomes First Company in the World to Receive FDA Green Light for Cultivated Meat

UPSIDE Foods, formerly known as Memphis Meats, just announced it has received approval from the US FDA for its cultivated chicken, marking the first time in the world a company has received a No Questions letter from the US FDA for cultivated meat, poultry, or seafood. “Before entering the U.S. Market, the food must meet other federal requirements,” states the FDA document, meaning that market entrance is not yet granted but is imminent. The products have been granted Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status and once the FDA has obtained further evidence that the process is safe, it should issue a “no further questions” letter to the company. The move paves the way for the company’s path to market in the United States and brings …

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Plant-based NotBurger

©Notco
Products & Launches

NotCo Launches NotBurger in Canada, Will Expand Canadian Team

Chilean plant-based unicorn NotCo announces it is bolstering its presence in Canada with the launch of its trademark NotBurger, as the second product to launch in the Canadian market after NotMilk. The Canadian reinforcement follows the company’s success in more than eight countries, most recently Australia,  and comes with the announcement that it focused on expanding its Canadian team for a strong local approach. NotCo became publicly listed and achieved unicorn status in a Series D last July when it raised $235 million, bringing the company’s valuation to $1.5 billion. In February of this year, NotCo announced a partnership with Kraft Heinz for new co-venture The Kraft Heinz Not Company, which will be based in Chicago. “We believe we must completely change the food system, …

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UPSIDE Foods Chicken Taco

© UPSIDE Foods
Cultivated Meat

UPSIDE Foods Achieves Unicorn Status Following Largest Ever Fund Round in Cultivated Meat

UPSIDE Foods (previously Memphis Meats) announces a $400 million Series C round which included returning investors Cargill, Tyson Foods, and Bill Gates. UPSIDE says this is the largest round in the industry to date and brings its valuation to over $1 billion, thus achieving Unicorn status. The news closely follows Upside’s acquisition of Culture Decadence, producer of cultivated lobster. Pending regulatory approval, which is slated to take place in 2022, UPSIDE Foods says it intends to initially launch on the US market. The fresh funds will be utilised to expedite commercialisation, build a commercial-scale facility with a planned annual capacity of tens of millions of pounds of cultivated meat, and develop the supply chain for ACF Cell Feed – a cell media that the company …

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Company News

Kraft Heinz and NotCo Join Forces to Create The Kraft Heinz Not Company

The Kraft Heinz Company and TheNotCompany, Inc. announce new joint venture The Kraft Heinz Not Company, which will be centered in Chicago. The Kraft Heinz Not Company LLC will operate under Kraft Heinz and combine NotCo’s patented AI-driven food technology with Kraft Heinz’s iconic brands and powerful scaling capabilities. The two companies say they will work together to develop premium, co-branded plant-based products with an unprecedented focus on speed, quality and scale. According to a statement, the collaboration is the result of both companies’ desire to improve the world by accelerating the adoption of plant-based foods. As part of its mission, Kraft Heinz Not Company will utilize cutting-edge technology to help resolve prevailing barriers for plant-based foods, including taste, variety and availability. The new company …

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breakfast-bundle Nature's Fynd

©Nature's Fynd

Investments & Finance

Newly-Crowned Unicorn Nature’s Fynd to Reinvent the Future of Food With Huge New Facility

Chicago-based Nature’s Fynd, producer of fermented fungi proteins from a microbe originating in the geothermal springs of Yellowstone National Park, announces construction of a new 200,000 Sq. Ft. facility in Chicago to expand capacity for its meatless and dairy-free products. When the products were pre-released this February, they sold out within a 24 hour period. Founded in 2012, Nature’s Fynd’s early investors included Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Al Gore’s Generation Investment Management. Nature’s Fynd raised $350 million in Series C funding led by SoftBank this July, bringing a total raise to $500M and meaning the company achieved Unicorn status, placing it amongst a dozen or so startups in the Chicago area to hit a unicorn valuation or higher this year. Comfortably in Unicorn …

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NotCo IPO

©NotCo

Investments & Finance

NotCo Achieves its Target of Unicorn Status, Securing $235M From Investors Including Lewis Hamilton & Roger Federer

NotCo, has raised $235 million in a Series D funding round led by Tiger Global, bringing the company’s valuation to $1.5 billion, thus surpassing its target of achieving unicorn status. Athletes Lewis Hamilton and Roger Federer and musician and DJ Questlove participated in the round. In June of this year, CEO Matias Muchnick said to vegconomist in response to its upcoming IPO: “Since day one we’ve been looking to challenge the industry as a whole. Unlike companies that focus solely on alt-meats or alt-milk, we are the only company already selling products in key animal protein substitute areas with NotMilk, NotBurger, NotIceCream and NotMayo in five different countries. We are the only global company to disrupt massive food and beverage simultaneously. Unicorn status will allow …

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NotCo Matias Muchnick & Danny Meyer Cropped

NotCo Matias Muchnick & Danny Meyer, image supplied
Investments & Finance

NotCo Announces Danny Meyer Investment as it Prepares for IPO With a View to Unicorn Status

Latin American phenomenon NotCo today announces an investment from Enlightened Hospitality Investments (EHI), where Shake Shack founder and QSR trailblazer, Danny Meyer, is a partner. The news comes amid the run-up to its planned IPO, aiming for unicorn status, with CEO Matias Muchnick stating, “It has to be for a valuation of $1 billion […] We won’t budge from there.” “The potential is so vast that we couldn’t pass up the opportunity” The investment will be strategic for the Chilean startup in boosting its ability to expand into the U.S. and NYC Foodservice market. Having launched its NotMilk™ in the U.S. nationwide at Whole Foods Market just a few months ago, the brand has already confirmed distribution in more than 3,000 stores in the first …

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NotCo appeals lawsuit against its trademark NotMilk

© NotCo
Investments & Finance

NotCo Aiming to Reach a Billion in Upcoming IPO as First Unicorn Company in Chile

Fast-growing Chilean brand NotCo SpA., the leading food-tech company in Latin America backed by key investors such as Jeff Bezos, is preparing for a fresh funding round this year where it predicts a fourfold increase in sales for 2021 and states it will aim for unicorn status. “It has to be for a valuation of $1 billion,” CEO Matias Muchnick said to Bloomberg. “We won’t budge from there.”

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